by Steve Driskill | Oct 29, 2015 | [sub] specification, Estoppel / Disclaimer
Soft language such as “approximately” can provide wiggle room for different modes of operation. Here, for example, the claimed communication cycle invention was not found to be inoperable without the hub sending start-time information to a remote device before each...
by Steve Driskill | Oct 19, 2015 | [sub] enabling disclosure, Anticipation, Prior Art
Statements in the specification asserting a high level of skill in the art may be used to lower the bar for enablement of the prior art as well as the application itself. Here, for example, even high-level descriptions in a prior art press release about “us[ing] the...
by Steve Driskill | Aug 28, 2015 | [sub] breadth, Indefiniteness
A claimed value that can be measured in several ways may be held to be indefinite rather than simply broad when the different measurements produce different results. Here, for example, a slope of strain hardening coefficient claimed within a certain range was found to...
by Steve Driskill | Aug 24, 2015 | [sub] written description, Adequate Disclosure
An application’s disclosure of a genus does not, without more, imply written description support of a particular species. Here, for example, a parent application’s disclosure of a “rating factor” was found to be insufficient to support a child application’s recitation...
by Steve Driskill | Aug 19, 2015 | [sub] motivation, Obviousness
A naturally implemented solution to a known problem is likely obvious. Here, for example, a periodic fan cycle that starts with an ‘off’ period rather than an ‘on’ period following the deactivation of a main heating or cooling cycle was found to be “naturally...
