Elsner, LeGrice

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AFFIRMED-IN-PART
Tech Center 3600 Transportation, Construction, Electronic Commerce, Agriculture, National Security, and License & Review
3682 Ex Parte Nicholas et al 10456826 - (D) KIM 103 103 CARDINAL LAW GROUP FRANK C. NICHOLAS DURAN, ARTHUR D

AFFIRMED
Tech Center 1600 Biotechnology and Organic Chemistry
1661 Ex Parte Meilland 12929715 - (D) McCOLLUM 102 BUCHANAN, INGERSOLL & ROONEY PC PARA, ANNETTE H

As with utility patents, “only an ‘enabling’ publication is effective as a bar [under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b)] to a subsequent [plant] patent.” In re LeGrice, 301 F.2d 929, 1138 (CCPA 1962). However, “evidence of [a] foreign sale of a claimed reproducible plant variety may enable an otherwise non-enabled printed publication disclosing that plant, thereby creating a § 102(b) bar.” In re Elsner, 381 F.3d 1125, 1128 (Fed. Cir. 2004). In particular,

[w]hen a publication identifies the plant that is invented or discovered and a foreign sale occurs that puts one of ordinary skill in the art in possession of the plant itself, which, based on the level of ordinary skill in the art, permits asexual reproduction without undue experimentation, that combination of facts and events so directly conveys the essential knowledge of the invention that the sale combines with the publication to erect a statutory bar.

Id. at 1129.

“[T]he precise focus of the analysis is not whether the foreign sales are themselves § 102(b) prior art, but whether the publication has placed the claimed invention in the possession of the public before the critical date.” Id. at 1129-30. In this regard, the Elsner court explained that “[t]he foreign sale must not be an obscure, solitary occurrence that would go unnoticed by those skilled in the art. Its availability must have been known in the art, just as a printed publication must be publicly available.” Id. at 1131. In addition, the Elsner court explained that, “even if the interested public would readily know of the foreign sales, those sales [must] enable[ ] one of ordinary skill in the art to reproduce the claimed plants without undue experimentation.” Id.

LeGrice, In re, 301 F.2d 929, 133 USPQ 365 (CCPA 1962) 2121.03

Elsner, In re,381 F.3d 1125, 72 USPQ2d 1038 (Fed. Cir. 2004) 2121.03

Tech Center 1700 Chemical & Materials Engineering
1793 Ex Parte Parsons et al 11736907 - (D) TIMM 103 BANNER & WITCOFF, LTD. MCCLAIN-COLEMAN, TYNESHA L.

1793 Ex Parte Akahori et al 11177352 - (D) PAK 103 37 C.F.R. 41.50 103 WESTERMAN, HATTORI, DANIELS & ADRIAN, LLP GEORGE, PATRICIA ANN

Tech Center 2100 Computer Architecture and Software
2184 Ex Parte Pennock et al 11771764 - (D) NAPPI 103 Brooks Kushman P.C./Harman HASSAN, AURANGZEB

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2659 Ex Parte Ma 11277793 - (D) FISHMAN 103 MOTOROLA MOBILITY LLC HE, JIALONG

Tech Center 2800 Semiconductors, Electrical and Optical Systems and Components
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Tech Center 3700 Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing, and Products & Design
3715 Ex Parte Guten et al 11146575 - (D) KAUFFMAN 103 RENNER, KENNER, GRIEVE, BOBAK, TAYLOR & WEBER EGLOFF, PETER RICHARD

3773 Ex Parte Brown et al 11431171 - (D) FREDMAN 103 NIKOLAI & MERSEREAU, P.A. DORNBUSCH, DIANNE

graves, LeGrice

REVERSED

1600 Biotechnology and Organic Chemistry
1631 Ex Parte Wong et al 10/795,012 WALSH 103(a)/non-statutory obviousness-type double patenting VISTA IP LAW GROUP LLP EXAMINER WHALEY, PABLO S

2600 Communications
2617 Ex Parte Rantalainen 10/043,926 STEPHENS 103(a) HARRINGTON & SMITH EXAMINER DOAN, KIET M

2800 Semiconductors, Electrical and Optical Systems and Components
2824 Ex Parte Dennison 11/262,246 RUGGIERO 103(a) TROP, PRUNER & HU, P.C. EXAMINER LULIS, MICHAEL P
AFFIRMED-IN-PART

2800 Semiconductors, Electrical and Optical Systems and Components
2836 Ex Parte Johnson et al 10/790,604 MacDONALD 102(e)/103(a) MYERS BIGEL SIBLEY & SAJOVEC, P. A. EXAMINER DEBERADINIS, ROBERT L
REEXAMINATION

EXAMINER AFFIRMED

3900 Central Reexamination Unit (CRU)
2839 Ex Parte 6521831 et al BRIDGEPORT FITTINGS, INC. Third Party Requestor, Respondent, Appellant v. ARLINGTON INDUSTRIES, INC. Patent Owner, Respondent, Appellant 95/000,196 09/941,341 TURNER 103(a) PATENT OWNER: THE JACKSON PATENT GROUP THIRD PARTY REQUESTER MICHAEL J. STRAUSS MORRISON & FOERSTER LLP EXAMINER GELLNER, JEFFREY L original EXAMINER NASRI, JAVAID H
AFFIRMED

1700 Chemical & Materials Engineering
1715 Ex Parte Bruner et al 11/585,458 KATZ 103(a) William J. Uhl EXAMINER BURKHART, ELIZABETH A

1746 Ex Parte Thorson et al 11/361,288 TIMM 103(a) KIMBERLY-CLARK WORLDWIDE, INC. EXAMINER AFTERGUT, JEFF H

2100 Computer Architecture and Software
2175 Ex Parte Wang et al 11/173,098 FRAHM 103(a) BIRCH, STEWART, KOLASCH & BIRCH, LLP EXAMINER TAKELE, MESEKER

See In re Graves, 69 F.3d 1147, 1152 (Fed. Cir. 1995) (citing In re LeGrice, 301 F.2d 929, 936 (CCPA 1962))(confirming the longstanding interpretation that the teachings of a reference may be taken in combination with knowledge of the skilled artisan to put the artisan in possession of the claimed invention even though the patent does not specifically disclose certain features.).

LeGrice, In re, 301 F.2d 929, 133 USPQ 365 (CCPA 1962) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2121.03

2400 Networking, Mulitplexing, Cable, and Security
2422 Ex Parte Vornsand 09/852,883 RUGGIERO 103(a) Zenith Electronics Corporation EXAMINER YENKE, BRIAN P

2600 Communications
2612 Ex Parte Lengning et al 11/076,255 WHITEHEAD, JR. 103(a) CROWELL & MORING LLP EXAMINER NGUYEN, TAI T

2800 Semiconductors, Electrical and Optical Systems and Components
2834 Ex Parte Gerfast 10/703,656 SAADAT 102(b)/103(a) STEN R. GERFAST EXAMINER NGUYEN, TRAN N

2892 Ex Parte Bronner et al 11/308,604 STEPHENS 102(e)/103(a) OHLANDT, GREELEY, RUGGIERO & PERLE, LLP EXAMINER TRICE, KIMBERLY N

basell, berg, eli lilly, graves, LeGrice, sasse, amgen2

AFFIRMED-IN-PART

1600 Biotechnology and Organic Chemistry
07/08/2011 1623 Ex Parte Damien et al 10/920,297 FREDMAN 112(1)/obviousness-type double patenting FOLEY AND LARDNER LLP EXAMINER WHITE, EVERETT NMN

“In determining double patenting, a one-way test is normally applied, in which "the examiner asks whether the application claims are obvious over the patent claims."” In re Basell Poliolefine Italia S.P.A., 547 F.3d 1371, 1375 (Fed. Cir. 2008) (quoting In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 1432 (Fed. Cir. 1998)). The two-way test “is a narrow exception to the general rule of the one-way test.” Berg, 140 F.3d at 1432. “The two-way test is only appropriate in the unusual circumstance where, inter alia, the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("PTO") is "solely responsible for the delay in causing the second-filed application to issue prior to the first."” Eli Lilly & Co. v. Barr Labs., Inc., 251 F.3d 955, 968 n. 7 (Fed. Cir. 2001) (quoting Berg, 140 F.3d at 1437).

Eli Lilly & Co. v. Barr Laboratories, Inc., 251 F.3d 955, 58 USPQ2d 1869 (Fed. Cir. 2001) . . . . .804, 2144.08, 2165, 2165.01

2400 Networking, Mulitplexing, Cable, and Security
07/08/2011 2444 Ex Parte Obradovich et al 09/910,510 NAPPI 103(a) CHRISTIE PARKER & HALE, LLP EXAMINER BAYARD, DJENANE M

AFFIRMED

1600 Biotechnology and Organic Chemistry
07/12/2011 1627 Ex Parte Perc et al 10/531,540 FREDMAN 103(a) Cozen O''Connor EXAMINER JEAN-LOUIS, SAMIRA JM

1700 Chemical & Materials Engineering
07/08/2011 1724 Ex Parte Mole 10/471,304 NAGUMO 103(a) HONEYWELL/HUSCH EXAMINER OLSEN, KAJ K

2400 Networking, Mulitplexing, Cable, and Security
07/08/2011 2491 Ex Parte Schmidt et al 10/160,984 BAUMEISTER 112(2)/102(e) WILLIAMS, MORGAN & AMERSON EXAMINER HENNING, MATTHEW T

2800 Semiconductors, Electrical and Optical Systems and Components
07/11/2011 2826 Ex Parte Stephenson et al 10/120,814 ROBERTSON 102(e) Michael G. Fletcher Fletcher, Yoder & Van Someren EXAMINER WILLIAMS, ALEXANDER O

A reference anticipates a claim if it discloses the claimed invention “such that a skilled artisan could take its teachings in combination with his own knowledge of the particular art and be in possession of the invention.” See In re Graves, 69 F.3d 1147, 1152 (Fed. Cir. 1995) (quoting In re LeGrice, 301 F.2d 929, 936 (CCPA 1962)).

Further, the Federal Circuit has instructed:

In patent prosecution the examiner is entitled to reject application claims as anticipated by a prior art patent without conducting an inquiry into whether or not that patent is enabled or whether or not it is the claimed material (as opposed to the unclaimed disclosures) in that patent that are at issue. In re Sasse, 629 F.2d 675, 681, 207 USPQ 107, 111 (C.C.P.A.1980) (“[W]hen the PTO cited a disclosure which expressly anticipated the present invention . . . the burden was shifted to the applicant. He had to rebut the presumption of the operability of [the prior art patent] by a preponderance of the evidence.”). The applicant, however, can then overcome that rejection by proving that the relevant disclosures of the prior art patent are not enabled. Id.

Amgen, Inc. v. Hoechst Marion Roussel, Inc., 314 F.3d 1313, 1355 (Fed. Cir. 2003) (footnotes omitted).

LeGrice, In re, 301 F.2d 929, 133 USPQ 365 (CCPA 1962) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2121.03

Sasse, In re, 629 F.2d 675, 207 USPQ 107 (CCPA 1980). . . . . . . . . . . . .716.07, 2121, 2121.02

DISMISSED

1600 Biotechnology and Organic Chemistry
07/12/2011 1642 Ex Parte BERNDORFF et al 12/211,198 JORDAN abandoned MILLEN, WHITE, ZELANO & BRANIGAN, P.C. EXAMINER AEDER, SEAN E

07/12/2011 1643 Ex Parte Zhao et al 10/335,056 JORDAN RCE MORRISON & FOERSTER LLP EXAMINER BRISTOL, LYNN ANNE

07/12/2011 1643 Ex Parte ZHAO et al 12/422,863 JORDAN RCE MORRISON & FOERSTER LLP EXAMINER BRISTOL, LYNN ANNE