A Decision by the us Supreme Court Makes New Combinations of Known Technologies More Difficult to Patent

A
DECISIONBYTHEUSSUPREMECOURTMAKESNEWCOMBINATIONSOF
KNOWNTECHNOLOGIESMOREDIFFICULTTOPATENT

ADAMMIZERA*
LEGER
ROBICRICHARD,LLP
L
AWYERS,PATENTANDTRADE-MARKAGENTS
InarecentjudgmentKSRv.TeleflexpublishedApril30,2007,theUSSupreme
Courthasattemptedtosettlealong-lastingdebateonthecriteriaofinventivenessor
non-obviousnessapplicabletopatents.Thebasiccriteriatoestablishthepatentability
ofaninventionarenovelty,non-obviousness(orinventiveness)andusefulness.In
thisdecision,theSupremeCourtanalysedthissecondcriteria.
EventhoughCanada,theUnited-StatesandEuropeeachhavetheirowncriteriaand
specificjudicialteststoevaluatetheinventivenessofaninvention,thisdecisionfrom
theUSisimportantasamajorityofpatentapplicationfilingsaroundtheworldare
madeinthatcountryand,consequently,amajorityofpatentapplicationsaredrafted
andaddresstheparticularitiesofpatentprosecutionintheUS.
Thisdecisionanalysesaninventionintheautomobileindustry,whichwasanew
combinationoftwoknowntechnologies.Consequently,thecriteriaofnoveltyand
usefulnessweremetbythisinvention.Thedefendantaccusedofpatentinfringement
inthiscasearguedthatthepatentedinventionwasinvalidbecauseofobviousnessin
viewofthepriorartknowninthefieldoftheinvention.
Priortothisdecision,theCourtofAppealsoftheFederalCircuitintheUnitedStates
hadestablishedastricttestbywhich,inordertoestablishtheobviousnessofan
invention,onehadtofindanexplicit”teaching,suggestionormotivation”foraperson
versedintheartofthetechnologyinordertocombinetwodistinctdocumentsofprior
art.
TheUSSupremeCourtdonotrejectthistestfromtheCourtofAppeals,but
neverthelessdistanceditselffromastrictinterpretationofthistestandthus
incorporatedacommonsenseapproachinitsanalysis,inordertoestablishthatthe
inventionwasanobviouscombinationofknowntechnologiesandthereforenon-
patentable.



















































©CIPS,2007.*WithLEGERROBICRICHARD,LLP.amultidisciplinaryfirmofLawyers,andPatentandTrade-mark
Agents.PublishedintheSpring2007Newsletterofthefirm(Vol.11,No.2).Publication068.082.

2
Therefore,withregardstotheprosecutionofpresentlypendingpatentapplications,it
couldbecomemoredifficulttocircumventcertainexaminersobjectionsinOffice
Actionswithrespecttoobviousness,especiallyiftheconcernedinventionisa
combinationofalready-knowntechnologies.Similarly,itispossiblethatthevalidityof
severalissuedpatentscouldeventuallybeattackedforlackofinventivenessinfuture
patentinfringementcases.
Inparalleltothis,followingpublicationofthedecision,theUSPatentOffice
distributedamemotoitsexaminersreiteratingtheargumentsthatexaminersmust
presentwhenobjectingtoanapplicationbasedonobviousness.
SeethereasonsoftheSupremeCourtonthefollowingsite:
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/06pdf/04-1350.pdf
SeethememosentbytheUSPTOtoitsexaminers:
http://www.patentlyo.com/patent/files/Focarino.pdf

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