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PTAB.US: Decisions of PTAB Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Monday, July 13, 2009

REVERSED

1700 Chemical & Materials Engineering

Ex Parte Peitersen et al WARREN 103(a) ECOLAB INC.
Methods and compositions for removing metal oxides
Tate 3,488,289 Jan. 6, 1970
Dobrez
5,763,377 Jun. 9, 1998
Hieatt
5,885,364 Mar. 23, 1999

Ex Parte Schemmel et al GARRIS 103(a) GREENBLUM & BERNSTEIN, PLC
Cold work steel article
Takashiet al. JP 2003-055747, 26 February 2003

Ex Parte Murata et al NAGUMO 103(a) SUGHRUE
Heat-peelable pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet
Sakumoto et al. U.S. Patent 5,032,438 (1991).

Ex Parte Naitou et al GAUDETTE 103(a) OBLON, SPIVAK, MCCLELLAND, MAIER & NEUSTADT, P.C.
Process for producing catalysts for the production of methacrylic acid
Naito, US 2000/296336, published Oct. 24, 2000

2600 Communications

Ex Parte Agazzi et al HOFF 102(e)/103(a) MCANDREWS HELD & MALLOY, LTD
High-speed decoder for a multi-pair gigabit transceiver
Wei US 5,872,817 Feb. 16, 1999

Ex Parte Chen BAUMEISTER 103(a) THE DIRECTV GROUP, INC.
Satellite TWTA on-line non-linearity measurement
Maruyama US 6,144,708 Nov. 7, 2000
Lindquist US
2002/0071506 A1 June 13, 2002 (filed Mar. 9, 1995)
Estinto US
6,411,797 B1 June 25, 2002 (filed Sept. 20, 1996)
Yakhnich US
6,731,700 B1 May 4, 2004 (filed Jan. 4, 2001)

2800 Semiconductors, Electrical and Optical Systems and Components


Ex Parte Paatero HOFF 103(a) MYERS BIGEL SIBLEY & SAJOVEC
Power conversion apparatus with DC bus precharge circuits
Johnson, Jr. US 6,483,730 B2 Nov. 19, 2002
Johnson, Jr. US 6,819,576 Nov. 16, 2004

3600 Transportation, Construction, Electronic Commerce, Agriculture, National Security, and License & Review

Ex Parte Pizzulo et al LORIN 103(a) Warn, Burgess & Hoffmann, PC
Method for safety compliance
Buddle US 6,912,502 B1 Jun. 28, 2005

3700 Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing, and Products & Designs

Ex Parte Munro et al MEDLEY 102(b)/103(a) FAY KAPLUN & MARCIN, LLP
Device for bone fixation
Aginsky 4,227,518 Oct. 14, 1980
Seidel et al.
4,858,602 Aug. 22, 1989
Pennig
5,356,410 Oct. 18, 1994
Chemello
6,077,264 Jun. 20, 2000
Stedtfeld et al. DE19829228 Oct. 28, 1999

AFFIRMED-IN-PART

3700 Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing, and Products & Designs

Ex Parte Saviharju et al BAHR 102(b)/103(a) NIXON & VANDERHYE, PC
Method of producing energy at a pulp mill
Kuusio US 5,509,997, Apr. 23, 1996

Anticipation is established only when a single prior art reference discloses, expressly or under the principles of inherency, each and every element of a claimed invention. RCA Corp. v. Applied Digital Data Sys., Inc., 730 F.2d 1440, 1444 (Fed. Cir. 1984). In other words, there must be no difference between the claimed invention and the reference disclosure, as viewed by a person of ordinary skill in the field of the invention. Scripps Clinic & Research Found. v. Genentech Inc., 927 F.2d 1565, 1576 (Fed. Cir. 1991). It is not necessary that the reference teach what the subject application teaches, but only that the claim read on something disclosed in the reference, i.e., that all of the limitations in the claim be found in or fully met by the reference. Kalman v. Kimberly-Clark Corp., 713 F.2d 760, 772 (Fed. Cir. 1983).


The question whether a reference “teaches away” from the invention is inapplicable to an anticipation analysis. Celeritas Techs. Ltd. v. Rockwell Int’l Corp., 150 F.3d 1354, 1361 (Fed. Cir. 1998) (The prior art was held to anticipate the claims even though it taught away from the claimed invention.)

NUIJTEN - AFFIRMED

2400 Networking, Mulitplexing, Cable, and Security

Ex Parte Simpson et al MARTIN 101/102(e)/103(a) HEWLETT PACKARD COMPANY
Document notarization system and method
Schreiber et al. US 6,298,446 B1 Oct. 2, 2001
Epstein US
6,601,172 B1 Jul. 29, 2003
Natarajan US
6,611,599 B2 Aug. 26, 2003
Braam et al. US
6,957,347 B2 Oct. 18, 2005

“If a claim covers material not found in any of the four statutory categories, that claim falls outside the plainly expressed scope of § 101 even if the subject matter is otherwise new and useful.” In re Nuijten, 500 F.3d 1346, 1354 (Fed. Cir. 2007). “A transitory, propagating signal . . . is not a ‘process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter’ [under 35 U.S.C. § 101]” and therefore does not constitute patentable subject matter under § 101. Id. at 1357.