REVERSED
Tech Center 1700 Chemical & Materials Engineering
1783 Ex Parte Gerrard 12180748 - (D) PAK 103 CANTOR COLBURN LLP MILLER, DANIEL H
Tech Center 2100 Computer Architecture and Software
2172 Ex Parte Ayers 11130578 - (D) FINK 103 Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP Adobe Systems, Inc. 58083 WRIGHT, ELIZABETH G
2181 Ex Parte Seo et al 13846566 - (D) EVANS 251 ROYLANCE, ABRAMS, BERDO & GOODMAN, L.L.P. TAYLOR, BROOKE JAZMOND
The section of the patent statute providing for correction of errors in a patent by reissue of the patent reads, in pertinent part:
Whenever any patent is, through error, deemed wholly or partly inoperative or invalid ... by reason of the patentee claiming more or less than he had a right to claim in the patent, the Director shall, on the surrender of such patent and the payment of the fee required by law, reissue the patent for invention disclosed in the original patent.
35 U.S.C. 251(a).
"[T]he whole purpose of the [reissue] statute, so far as claims are concerned, is to permit limitations to be added to claims that are too broad or to be taken from claims that are too narrow." In re Weiler, 790 F.2d 1576, 1580 (Fed. Cri. 1986) (quoting In re Handel, 312 F.2d 943, 948 (CCPA 1963)). The "Orita doctrine" precludes applicants from obtaining by reissue subject matter, which was barred from their original patent because of a requirement for restriction in which they had acquiesced. In re Orita, 550 F.2d 1277, 1280 (CCPA 1977).
When applicants acquiesce in the Examiner's requirement for restriction, such action manifestly is not "error" causing patentee to claim "less than he had a right to claim in the patent" in the language of 35 U.S.C. 251. Id.
Three classes of subject matter established by election
Section 251 authorizes reissue for a first class of subject matter: "the invention disclosed in the original patent." In re Weiler, 790 F.2d at 1581. The Orita doctrine precludes a second class of subject matter. Reissue applicants may not obtain substantially identical claims to those of non-elected groups identified in an Examiner's restriction requirement when such claims could not have been prosecuted in the application from which they were restricted. See Ex Parte Morrison, Appeal 2012-010066, slip op. at 4 (PTAB July 16, 2013) (citing In re Doyle, 293 F.3d 1355, 1359) (Fed, Cir 2002)).
Applicants must affirmatively elect subject matter for prosecution in response to an Examiner's requirement for restriction. Thus, a third class of subject matter may be caused to exist by an Appellant's election:
[I]t is not enough that an invention might have been claimed in the original patent because it was suggested or indicated in the specification. It must appear from the face of the instrument that what is covered by the reissue was intended to have been covered and secured by the original.
Weiler, 790 F.2d at 1582 (quoting U.S. Indus. Chems., Inc. v. Carbide & Carbon Chems. Corp., 315 U.S. 668, 676 (1942); see also Morrison, slip op. at 8.
Tech Center 2400 Networking, Multiplexing, Cable, and Security
2413 Ex Parte Yin et al 11988653 - (D) HAGY 103 41.50 103 THOMSON Licensing LLC LIU, SIMING
2413 Ex Parte Yin et al 11988697 - (D) HAGY 103 41.50 103 THOMSON Licensing LLC LIU, SIMING
2461 Ex Parte Wan et al 11994491 - (D) EVANS 103 ERICSSON INC. BEDNASH, JOSEPH A
2483 Ex Parte Ramachandran et al 11602942 - (D) SAADAT 103 Garlick & Markison (VIXS) NAVAS JR, EDEMIO
Tech Center 2600 Communications
2621 Ex Parte Ungaretti et al 11564182 - (D) SHIANG 103 SEED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW (EP ORIGINATING) MIDKIFF, AARON
2664 Ex Parte ITO et al 12487922 - (D) HAGY 102 FINNEGAN, HENDERSON, FARABOW, GARRETT & DUNNER LLP DIEP, TRUNG T
Tech Center 3600 Transportation, Construction, Electronic Commerce, Agriculture, National Security, and License & Review
3626 Ex Parte Hyde et al 12378284 - (D) MOHANTY 112(2)/103 Constellation Law Group, PLLC RAJ, RAJIV J
3682 Ex Parte Nixon-Lane 11873683 - (D) BROWN 103 BGL/Ann Arbor MYHRE, JAMES W
3684 Ex Parte McGonigal et al 12615476 - (D) MOHANTY 102/103 WINSTEAD P.C. IBM CORP. (WSM) ZIMMERMAN, MATTHEW E
Tech Center 3700 Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing, and Products & Design
3721 Ex Parte Jones 12750081 - (D) WOODS 103 FITCH EVEN TABIN & FLANNERY, LLP JALLOW, EYAMINDAE CHOSSAN
3748 Ex Parte Stefanick et al 12314006 - (D) MURPHY 102/103 CATERPILLAR/FINNEGAN, HENDERSON, L.L.P. BOGUE, JESSE SAMUEL
AFFIRMED-IN-PART
Tech Center 3700 Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing, and Products & Design
3779 Ex Parte Sauer et al 11383598 - (D) JENKS 103 103 SIEMENS CORPORATION BOLER, RYNAE E
AFFIRMED
Tech Center 1600 Biotechnology and Organic Chemistry
1647 Ex Parte Dengjel 11942394 - (D) JENKS 103 MILES & STOCKBRIDGE, PC STANFIELD, CHERIE MICHELLE
Tech Center 1700 Chemical & Materials Engineering
1715 Ex Parte Ma et al 12374066 - (D) HASTINGS 103 The BOC Group, Inc. CHEN, BRET P
1764 Ex Parte Iwamura et al 11522197 - (D) HASTINGS 103 THE PROCTER & GAMBLE COMPANY REDDY, KARUNA P
Tech Center 2100 Computer Architecture and Software
2163 Ex Parte Grois 12156589 - (D) STRAUSS 103 Dan Grois GOFMAN, ALEX N
2166 Ex Parte Tapper et al 12603020 - (D) KOHUT 103 HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY OBERLY, VAN HONG
Tech Center 2400 Networking, Multiplexing, Cable, and Security
2426 Ex Parte Wajs 10124177 - (D) COURTENAY 103 Reed Smith LLP ALAM, MUSHFIKH I
2475 Ex Parte Ambrose et al 12135017 - (D) PYONIN 103 Emulex Corporation RANDHAWA, MANDISH K
Tech Center 2600 Communications
2619 Ex Parte MUSETH et al 11952446 - (D) NAPPI 112(4) 103 LYON & HARR, LLP BROOME, SAID A
2641 Ex Parte Aissi et al 10956765 - (D) NEW 103 TROP, PRUNER & HU, P.C. c/o CPA Global AJIBADE AKONAI, OLUMIDE
2642 Ex Parte KWON 11859585 - (D) McCARTNEY 103 THE FARRELL LAW FIRM, P.C. PATEL, NIMESH
2672 Ex Parte Tonegawa 10548428 - (D) SAADAT 103 FITZPATRICK CELLA HARPER & SCINTO PACHOL, NICHOLAS C
2683 Ex Parte Loftin et al 11095874 - (D) DROESCH 103 PREFERRED TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS, LLC SYED, NABIL H
Tech Center 3600 Transportation, Construction, Electronic Commerce, Agriculture, National Security, and License & Review
3634 Ex Parte Waters et al 11254032 - (D) JENKS 103 HONEYWELL/WOOD PHILLIPS BRADFORD, CANDACE L
3654 Ex Parte Prest et al 12103643 - (D) ASTORINO 103 PATENT VENTURE GROUP TRUONG, MINH D
Tech Center 3700 Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing, and Products & Design
3765 Ex Parte Kashihara 12797798 - (D) SHAH 103 DICKINSON WRIGHT PLLC MUROMOTO JR, ROBERT H
3781 Ex Parte Shiffer 12429508 - (D) MARSCHALL 103 MAGINOT, MOORE & BECK, LLP MATHEW, FENN C
REEXAMINATION
AFFIRMED-IN-PART
Tech Center 1700 Chemical & Materials Engineering
1744 GT WATER PRODUCTS, INC. Requester and Cross-appellant v. EUGENE H. LUOMA Patent Owner and Appellant Ex Parte 6,775,873 B2 et al 09/734,249 95001754 - (D) GUEST 102/103 102/103 41.77 103 Christensen Fonder PA THIRD-PARTY REQUESTER: SCHLEE IP INTERNATIONAL P.C. MCKANE, ELIZABETH L original CHIN, RANDALL E
Tech Center 2600 Communications
2624 APPLE INC. Requester v. S3 GRAPHICS CO. LTD. Patent Owner and Appellant Ex Parte 7,043,087 et al 10/893,084 95000584 - (D) DILLON 103/314 103/314 OBLON, MCCLELLAND, MAIER & NEUSTADT, L.L.P. Third Party Requester: Novak Druce & Quigg TRAN, HENRY N original DO, ANH HONG
