Appeal 2006-3003
Application 10/390,444
FF5. Willius describes the coatings on both the hangers and receptacle bars
as having “a low coefficient of friction” (Willius, col. 4, ll. 14-16) and, in
particular, teaches that the hangers and receptacle bars can be coated with
“teflon” (Willius, col. 4, ll. 26-27).
FF6. While Willius expressly associates the low coefficient of friction
coatings only with permitting the surface of the hanger to slide easily on the
pages of the book (Willius, col. 4, ll. 15-17), Willius’s disclosure of such
coatings on the receptacle bars as well as the hangers conveys easy sliding of
the hangers along the receptacle bars, in furtherance of the objective of
having the books slide by gravity along the inclined span of the receptacle
bar to the bar’s lowest point (FF4).
PRINCIPLES OF LAW
The selection of a known material based upon its suitability for the
intended use is a design consideration within the skill of the art. In re
Leshin, 277 F.2d 197, 199, 125 USPQ 416, 418 (CCPA 1960).
“The combination of familiar elements according to known methods
is likely to be obvious when it does no more than yield predictable results.”
KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 127 S. Ct. 1727, 1740, 82 USPQ2d 1385,
1395 (2007).
When a work is available in one field of endeavor,
design incentives and other market forces can
prompt variations of it, either in the same field or a
different one. If a person of ordinary skill can
implement a predictable variation, §103 likely bars
its patentability. For the same reason, if a
technique has been used to improve one device,
and a person of ordinary skill in the art would
recognize that it would improve similar devices in
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