The Arbitrary Nature of Obviousness
Obviousness is where the rubber meets the road in terms of patentability, and it seems that the state of the law of obviousness is anything but clear. It has always been difficult to explain the law of obviousness to inventors, business executives and law students alike. Since the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in KSR v. Teleflex, it has become even more difficult to provide a simple, coherent articulation of the law of obviousness that is at all intellectually satisfying. That is in no small part due to the fact that the determination about whether an invention is obvious is now completely subjective.
If you look at the Federal Circuit cases, it seems that there is a lot of post hoc reasoning that simply justifies a conclusion already formed. De novo review of all the facts allows the Federal Circuit to be a super-panel that can simply supplant its own beliefs for the considered beliefs of patent examiners, the Board, a District Court Judge or even a jury. While conceptually it may seem like a good idea to have a fresh look by a reviewing court, this fresh look at all things leads to no predictability, and obviousness law in utter disarray.
Will the Supreme Court Accept Soverain v. Newegg?
To many, Soverain v. Newegg is just another obviousness dispute; so why would the Supreme Court get involved? It is really more than your typical obviousness dispute, though. Increasingly, patent claims are held valid in a variety of different forums — they are initially granted, they are litigated in district court and at the ITC, and litigated again and again at the USPTO. In some instances, after all that litigation, and even after multiple successful reexaminations in favor of the patentee, the Federal Circuit will find the claims invalid as being obvious.
How is this the case? That is a good question. It stems from the fact that obviousness, which is supposed to be a mixed question of fact and law, is reviewed de novo by the Federal Circuit. It seems the Federal Circuit, which as an appellate court is not well-equipped to deal with determining facts, reviews the underlying facts de novo as well.
12.30.13 | CAFC, Patent Issues, Supreme Court Cases | Gene Quinn
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02.7.14 | CAFC, Patent Issues | Gene Quinn