Rulings in Two Patent Cases
The Federal Circuit decided two patent cases. One involved claims of patent infringement and unfair competition related to patented footwear, commonly known as "Crocs", and the other involved a finding by the US Patent and Trademark Office, Board of Patent Appeals and Inferences rejecting an application involving divalent antibody fragments.
In Crocs, Inc. v. Int'l Trade Comm'n, No. 08-1596, the court found that the Commission erred in concluding that plaintiff's patent '858 would have been obvious because prior art taught all of the claimed elements of the '859 patent. Court also found that Commission erred in claim construction of the '789 patent in incorrectly applying the ordinary observer industry requirements and the technical prong of the 19 U.S.C. section 337 domestic industry requirement.
In In re Chapman, No. 09-1270, the court reversed the finding of petitioner's application for technology directed towards divalent antibody fragments as unpatentable because the Board's opinion included erroneous statements that were not harmless, increasing the likelihood that petitioner was erroneously denied patent on grounds of obviousness.
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