USPTO Rolls Out New Obviousness Rules

By Erin Coe

Law360, New York (September 01, 2010, 7:44 PM ET) -- The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has unveiled updated guidelines for its examiners on applying the law of obviousness based on precedential appeals court rulings that have come out since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2007 ruling in KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc.

The USPTO published the updated guidelines, which include teaching points from several post-KSR decisions, Wednesday in the Federal Register to help examiners, inventors and the patent bar better assess the boundaries between an obvious and nonobvious invention.

“This update can be used to...
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