REVERSED

1600 Biotechnology and Organic Chemistry
Ex Parte Falder et al WALSH 103(a) NELSON, MULLINS, RILEY & SCARBOROUGH, LLP

"The entirety of the evidence must be reviewed in order to determine whether the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art." In re Kumar, 418 F.3d 1361, 1369 (Fed. Cir. 2005).

1700 Chemical & Materials Engineering
Ex Parte Nelbock et al KIMLIN 103(a) COLLARD & ROE, P.C.

Ex Parte Benett et al HANLON 103(a) JAMES S. TAK LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LABORATORY

2100 Computer Architecture and Software
Ex Parte Kirkland et al BARRETT 102(e) IBM CORP (YA) C/O YEE & ASSOCIATES PC

2800 Semiconductors, Electrical and Optical Systems and Components
Ex Parte JONES HOFF 103(a) EDWARDS ANGELL PALMER & DODGE LLP

The determination of obviousness must consider, inter alia, whether a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine the prior art to achieve the claimed invention and whether there would have been a reasonable expectation of success in doing so. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. v. Philip Morris Inc., 229 F.3d 1120, 1125 (Fed. Cir. 2000).

Where the teachings of two or more prior art references conflict, the Examiner must weigh the power of each reference to suggest solutions to one of ordinary skill in the art, considering the degree to which one reference might accurately discredit another. In re Young, 927 F.2d 588, 591 (Fed. Cir. 1991).

If the proposed modification would render the prior art invention being modified unsatisfactory for its intended purpose, then there is no suggestion or motivation to make the proposed modification. In re Gordon, 733 F.2d 900, 902 (Fed. Cir. 1984).

Further, our reviewing court has held that "[a] reference may be said to teach away when a person of ordinary skill, upon reading the reference, would be discouraged from following the path set out in the reference, or would be led in a direction divergent from the path that was taken by the applicant." In re Gurley, 27 F.3d 551, 553 (Fed. Cir. 1994); Para-Ordnance Mfg., Inc. v. SGS Importers Int’l., Inc., 73 F.3d 1085, 1090 (Fed. Cir. 1995).

Ex Parte Chin et al HAIRSTON 103(a) KATHY MANKE AVAGO TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED

3600 Transportation, Construction, Electronic Commerce, Agriculture, National Security, and License & Review
Ex Parte Simmons BAHR 102(b) ROBERT D. VARITZ, P.C.

3700 Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing, and Products & Designs
Ex Parte Fulton et al MILLS 103(a) WELSH & FLAXMAN LLC

AFFIRMED-IN-PART

2100 Computer Architecture and Software
Ex Parte Majcher et al COURTENAY 102(e)/103(a) Susan M. Donahue Rockwell Automation

2400 Networking, Mulitplexing, Cable, and Security
Ex Parte Zebian BARRETT 102(e)/103(a) SoCAL IP LAW GROUP LLP

2600 Communications
Ex Parte Britton et al WHITEHEAD, JR. 102(e)/103(a) ALEXANDER J. BURKE SIEMENS CORPORATION

2800 Semiconductors, Electrical and Optical Systems and Components
Ex Parte Minich et al HOFF 102(b)/103(a) WOODCOCK WASHBURN, LLP

Anticipation of a claim requires a finding that the claim at issue reads on a prior art reference. Atlas Powder Co. v. IRECO, Inc., 190 F.3d 1342, 1346 (Fed. Cir. 1999) (quoting Titanium Metals Corp. v. Banner, 778 F.2d 775, 781 (Fed. Cir. 1985)).

3600 Transportation, Construction, Electronic Commerce, Agriculture, National Security, and License & Review
Ex Parte Henseleit BAHR 102(b)/103(a) BURGESS LAW OFFICE, PLLC

“[W]hen the prior art teaches away from combining certain known elements, discovery of a successful means of combining them is more likely to be nonobvious.” Id. (citing United States v. Adams, 383 U.S. 39, 51-52 (1966)).

A reference may be said to teach away when a person of ordinary skill, upon reading the reference, would be discouraged from following the path set out in the reference, or would be led in a direction divergent from the path that was taken by the applicant. The degree of teaching away will of course depend on the particular facts; in general, a reference will teach away if it suggests that the line of development flowing from the reference's disclosure is unlikely to be productive of the result sought by the applicant. In re Gurley, 27 F.3d 551, 553 (Fed. Cir. 1994) (citations omitted).

3700 Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing, and Products & Designs
Ex Parte Griffin et al LEBOVITZ 102(e)/103(a) CROMPTON, SEAGER & TUFTE, LLC

NUIJTEN - 37 C.F.R. § 41.50(b)

2100 Computer Architecture and Software
Ex Parte Scanzano et al MACDONALD 102(b)/101 MYERS BIGEL SIBLEY & SAJOVEC