Case Questions CAFC’s Obviousness Jurisprudence

KSR International v. Teleflex (On Petition for Certiorari)

In January 2005, the CAFC decided Teleflex v. KSR — holding that when combining two or more references in an obviousness finding, there must be a suggestion or motivation to combine the teachings.  This “teaching-suggestion-motivation test” has been a stalwart of Federal Circuit obviousness jurisprudence for twenty years.  During that time, the Supreme Court has not heard a single obviousness case.

Now, KSR has petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari.  In its petition, the company makes a couple of interesting points that may push the High Court to accept the case:

• In Anderson’s-Black Rock (1969) and Sakraida (1976), the Supreme Court held that “a combination which only unites old elements with no change in their respective functions” is precluded from patentability under 103(a).  Under the Sakraida standard, which remains law, the Teleflex patent is arguably obvious.
• With the emergence of Holmes Group, circuit splits will become more of a possibility in patent law.  On this issue, the Federal Circuit has acknowledged the existence of a circuit split between itself and the Fifth Circuit.  KSR points out that the split extends to other circuits as well.  The other circuits have followed the Sakraisa standard while the CAFC sticks to its requirement of an explicit motivation to combine.

A consortium of five major corporations, including Microsoft, Cisco, and Hallmark have filed as amicus supporting the petition.  Their brief argues that the current structured test for obviousness is too easy a hurdle for patentees and that the formalities of the test undermines courts ability to truly determine whether an invention is obvious to one skilled in the art.

In addition, Teleflex has filed its opposition to the petition — arguing that (1) obviousness is well settled law and need not be revisited; (2) the CAFC’s test is consistent with Graham; and perhaps most importantly (3) this case does not hinge on the obviousness issue.

Documents:

• Party Briefs
  • KSR’s Petition for Cert (Including the CAFC and District Court decisions in Appx A & B);
  • Teleflex’s Brief in Opposition
  • KSR Reply Brief (314 KB)
• Amicus Briefs
  • 24 Law Professors in support of petition;
  • Progress Freedom Foundation in support of petition;
  • Microsoft, Cisco, Hallmark, et al. in support of petition.

Links:

• Patently-O Prior Discussion of CAFC decision;
• Patently-O Prior Discussion of Microsoft Amicus Brief;
• Patently-O Prior Discussion of Law Professors Brief.