Last week, in Steven Ritchie et al. v. Vast Resources, Inc. (2008-1528, -1529) the Federal Circuit summarily reversed the findings of the district court and held that the asserted patent (RE 38,924, http://www.google.com/patents?id=LasVAAAAEBAJ&dq=RE38924) was invalid as being obvious. (Yes, I know that it is far more appropriate to say that the asserted or challenged claims were found invalid, but in this case, the Court doesn't mention which claims were on appeal or which claims were actually held to be invalid.)
The subject matter of the patent is somewhat low tech –OK, its a sex toy made of a type of slippery glass known as “borosilicate glass.” Notwithstanding the apparent simplicity of the underlying . . . umm . . . technology, before reaching the Federal Circuit, the patent survived both initial examination and re-issue proceedings at the USPTO and was found to be valid and infringed at the district court.
Judge Posner, sitting by designation, wrote the opinion that was joined by Chief Judge Michel and Judge Bryson. (The opinion can be found at http://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/opinions/08-1528.pdf). Judge Posner clearly had some fun writing this opinion, which includes a number of jokes directed at the subject matter of the patent. I enjoyed reading the opinion. Unfortunately, in the end, the opinion is long on wit and generalities about obviousness, but is extremly limited with respect to providing any real guidance on the application of the obviousness inquiry post-KSR.
In this opinion, there is very little discussion of the actual claim limitations in question, how the prior art was applied to those limitations, or the actual basis for deciding why a person of ordinary skill in the art would arrive at the conclusion that the differences between the prior art and the claimed invention were indeed obvious. From the opinion, the reader merely knows that both sex toys and borosilicate glass are well known. It is quite possible that the conclusion reached by the Federal Circuti is correct, but that conclusion simply does not flow from the information provided in the opinion.
Finding a patent claim invalid is a significant holding. As such, a finding of invalidity in the first instance by the Federal Circuit should be supported by a more thorough analysis that clearly supports the holding. Even patents directed to sex toys deserve an informed analysis regarding the Graham factors before finding a patent invalid! In my own humble opinion, the obviousness inquiry should not be relegated to an amorphous analysis akin to pornography, e.g., an “I know it when I see it” approach.
Without question, some patents are directed to subject matter that is obvious and those claims should be invalidated. When those cases are presented, the Federal Circuit would better serve patent owners, defendants, district courts and the patent bar by providing an analysis that informs the process and clearly justifies the result.
The subject matter of the patent is somewhat low tech –OK, its a sex toy made of a type of slippery glass known as “borosilicate glass.” Notwithstanding the apparent simplicity of the underlying . . . umm . . . technology, before reaching the Federal Circuit, the patent survived both initial examination and re-issue proceedings at the USPTO and was found to be valid and infringed at the district court.
Judge Posner, sitting by designation, wrote the opinion that was joined by Chief Judge Michel and Judge Bryson. (The opinion can be found at http://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/opinions/08-1528.pdf). Judge Posner clearly had some fun writing this opinion, which includes a number of jokes directed at the subject matter of the patent. I enjoyed reading the opinion. Unfortunately, in the end, the opinion is long on wit and generalities about obviousness, but is extremly limited with respect to providing any real guidance on the application of the obviousness inquiry post-KSR.
In this opinion, there is very little discussion of the actual claim limitations in question, how the prior art was applied to those limitations, or the actual basis for deciding why a person of ordinary skill in the art would arrive at the conclusion that the differences between the prior art and the claimed invention were indeed obvious. From the opinion, the reader merely knows that both sex toys and borosilicate glass are well known. It is quite possible that the conclusion reached by the Federal Circuti is correct, but that conclusion simply does not flow from the information provided in the opinion.
Finding a patent claim invalid is a significant holding. As such, a finding of invalidity in the first instance by the Federal Circuit should be supported by a more thorough analysis that clearly supports the holding. Even patents directed to sex toys deserve an informed analysis regarding the Graham factors before finding a patent invalid! In my own humble opinion, the obviousness inquiry should not be relegated to an amorphous analysis akin to pornography, e.g., an “I know it when I see it” approach.
Without question, some patents are directed to subject matter that is obvious and those claims should be invalidated. When those cases are presented, the Federal Circuit would better serve patent owners, defendants, district courts and the patent bar by providing an analysis that informs the process and clearly justifies the result.
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