Appeal 2007-0269
Application 10/799,095
1 attached to the rib or the base. (Welygan, col. 2, ll. 24-30). The embodiment of
2 Fig. 7, for instance, shows undulating ribs of a sinusoidal pattern where the ribs
3 undulate in phase with one another. The structure of Welygan is extruded, and the
4 structure can be made of many thermoplastics, rubbers, thermosetting plastic
5 materials, natural substances, or even foodstuffs. (Welygan, col. 3, ll. 15-50). The
6 structure of Welygan is suitable for use as packing or as an energy absorbing
7 material among other uses. (Welygan, col. 10, ll. 35-36).
8
9 PRINCIPLES OF LAW
10 “Section 103 forbids issuance of a patent when ‘the differences between the
11 subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject
12 matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a
13 person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains.’” KSR
14 Int'l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 127 S.Ct. 1727, 1734, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1391 (2007).
15 The question of obviousness is resolved on the basis of underlying factual
16 determinations including (1) the scope and content of the prior art, (2) any
17 differences between the claimed subject matter and the prior art, and (3) the level
18 of skill in the art. Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 17-18, 148 USPQ 459,
19 467 (1966). See also KSR, 127 S.Ct. at 1734, 82 USPQ2d at 1391 (“While the
20 sequence of these questions might be reordered in any particular case, the
21 [Graham] factors continue to define the inquiry that controls.”) The Court in
22 Graham further noted that evidence of secondary considerations “might be utilized
23 to give light to the circumstances surrounding the origin of the subject matter
24 sought to be patented.” 383 U.S. at 18, 148 USPQ at 467.
25 In KSR, the Supreme Court emphasized “the need for caution in granting a
26 patent based on the combination of elements found in the prior art,” id. at 1739,
4
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next
Last modified: September 9, 2013