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

Thursday, August 17, 2017

grasselli2, meadwestvaco, mason

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REVERSED
Tech Center 2800 Semiconductors, Electrical and Optical Systems and Components
2894 Ex Parte Seabaugh et al 14212310 - (D) NAGUMO 102 Greenberg Traurig, LLP TRAN, TONY

Tech Center 3700 Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing, and Products & Design
3738 Ex Parte Serafin et al 13507397 - (D) WIEKER 103/double patenting CHRISTOPHER JOHN RUDY HOBAN, MELISSA A

3745 Ex Parte Aiello et al 13627036 - (D) SCHOPFER 102/103 CARLSON, GASKEY & OLDS/PRATT & WHITNEY SEABE, JUSTIN D

3761 Ex Parte VON WEYMARN-SCHÄRLI 13532523 - (D) HOFFMANN 103 ADAMS & WILKS MENSH, ANDREW J

AFFIRMED-IN-PART
Tech Center 3600 Transportation, Construction, Electronic Commerce, Agriculture, National Security, and License & Review
3649 Ex Parte Pascal et al 11721716 - (D) POWELL 103 103 BUCHANAN, INGERSOLL & ROONEY PC KRUER, KEVIN R

Furthermore, for most of the claims, we are not persuaded that Appellants’ evidence of allegedly unexpected results rebuts this prima facie case of obviousness. To support a contention of nonobviousness, evidence of unexpected results must be commensurate in scope with the claims. In re Grasselli, 713 F.2d 731, 741 (Fed. Cir. 1983) (Where rebuttal evidence compared catalysts containing sodium to prior art, court held evidence insufficient to rebut prima facie case of obviousness because experiments limited to sodium were not commensurate in scope with claims, which were directed to certain catalysts containing an alkali metal.). The requirement that the evidence be commensurate in scope with the claimed invention must be applied on a claim-by-claim basis. See MeadWestVaco Corp. v. Rexam Beauty and Closures, Inc., 731 F.3d 1258, 1264—65 (Fed. Cir. 2013) (noting district court erred by failing to treat broader claims differently than narrower claims when considering objective evidence of non-obviousness).

Grasselli, In re, 713 F.2d 731, 218 USPQ 769 (Fed. Cir. 1983) 716.02(d) 2112 2145

Tech Center 3700 Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing, and Products & Design
3765 Ex Parte van Oudenallen et al 13220383 - (D) KNIGHT 112(1)/103 103 NIXON & VANDERHYE, PC HOEY, ALISSA L

Claim 16 — This claim recites a “plurality of connections between [the] third sheet and [the] fourth sheet. . . whereby [the] third sheet is constrained to expand . . . from [the] fourth sheet.” Appellants argue that the plurality of connections are not shown in the art and that the whereby clause must be considered. App. Br. 26-27. The Examiner argues that the whereby clause is functional language that does not define any structure and thus does not distinguish over the prior art, citing to In re Mason, 244 F.2d 733 (CCPA 1957). Ans. 10. We disagree with the Examiner’s claim interpretation. Claim 16 positively recites a plurality of connections and further recites that the connections are distributed so that the third sheet expands a limited distance from the fourth sheet when the chamber is inflated. The Examiner has failed to provide an adequate showing of where this structural limitation of the plurality of connections is found in either Anderson or Clark. Accordingly, because all of the limitations are not shown to be contained in the references cited, this rejection will not be sustained.

AFFIRMED
Tech Center 1700 Chemical & Materials Engineering
1718 Ex Parte Ferguson et al 13871132 - (D) ROSS 103 Kwan & Olynick LLP, Boeing TUROCY, DAVID P

Tech Center 2400 Networking, Multiplexing, Cable, and Security
2412 Ex Parte Kalhan et al 14358339 - (D) BUI 103 KYOCERA INTERNATIONAL INC. ATKINS JR., GEORGE CALVIN

Tech Center 2600 Communications
2676 Ex Parte Liguori et al 14720915 - (D) KUMAR 103/double patenting William Propp, Esq. CHEN, HUO LONG

3625 Ex Parte Gu et al 12061448 - (D) THOMAS 101 SCHWEGMAN LUNDBERG & WOESSNER/EBAY PALAVECINO, KATHLEEN GAGE

3649 Ex Parte Boeckl et al 10609132 - (D) HORNER 103 NOVARTIS PHARMACEUTICAL CORPORATI HARMON, CHRISTOPHER R

3657 Ex Parte Hanna et al 12793525 - (D) THOMAS 103 BrooksGroup SICONOLFI, ROBERT

3671 Ex Parte Cain et al 13785142 - (D) HORNER 102 Chamberlain, Hrdicka, White, Williams & Aughtry, P.C. MAYO-PINNOCK, TARA LEIGH

Tech Center 3700 Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing, and Products & Design
3747 Ex Parte Martin 14068014 - (D) CAPP 102 BROOKS KUSHMAN P.C./FGTL PICON-FELICIANO, RUBEN

3748 Ex Parte Schneeberger 12564877 - (D) GUIJT 102/103 41.50 102/103 IDEPA INC. DAVIS, MARY ALICE

REHEARING

DENIED
Tech Center 3600 Transportation, Construction, Electronic Commerce, Agriculture, National Security, and License & Review
3693 Ex Parte Dickson et al 13285427 - (D) MEDLOCK 101 CANTOR FITZGERALD, L.P. ALLADIN, AMBREEN A