Appeal 2007-4147
Application 10/371,754
would have been motivated to utilize a blend of ethylene-bis stearamide wax
and calcium stearate in the weight ratio of ethylene-bis stearamide wax to
calcium stearate wax is from about 20:80 to about 80:20 within the meaning
of 35 U.S.C. § 103? We answer this question in the affirmative.
Under 35 U.S.C. § 103, the factual inquiry into obviousness requires a
determination of: (1) the scope and content of the prior art; (2) the
differences between the claimed subject matter and the prior art; (3) the level
of ordinary skill in the art; and (4) secondary considerations. Graham v.
John Deere Co. of Kansas City, 383 U.S. 1, 17-18, 148 USPQ 459, 467
(1966). “[A]nalysis [of whether the subject matter of a claim would have
been obvious] need not seek out precise teachings directed to the specific
subject matter of the challenged claim, for a court can take account of the
inferences and creative steps that a person of ordinary skill in the art would
employ.” KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 127 S. Ct. 1727, 1740-41, 82
USPQ2d 1385, 1396 (2007) (quoting In re Kahn, 441 F.3d 977, 988, 78
USPQ2d 1329, 1336-337 (Fed. Cir. 2006)). See DyStar Textilfarben GmbH
& Co. Deutschland KG v. C.H. Patrick Co., 464 F.3d 1356, 1361, 80
USPQ2d 1641, 1645 (Fed. Cir. 2006)(“The motivation need not be found in
the references sought to be combined, but may be found in any number of
sources, including common knowledge, the prior art as a whole, or the
nature of the problem itself.”); In re Bozek, 416 F.2d 1385, 1390, 163 USPQ
545, 549 (CCPA 1969)(“Having established that this knowledge was in the
art, the examiner could then properly rely, as put forth by the solicitor, on a
conclusion of obviousness ‘from common knowledge and common sense of
the person of ordinary skill in the art without any specific hint or suggestion
in a particular reference.’”); In re Hoeschele, 406 F.2d 1403, 1406-407, 160
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