we understand KSR v. Teleflex
Undertanding the prior art has become ever more critical in light of KSR. On April 30, 2007, the Supreme Court in KSR v. Teleflex interpreted the obviousness clause in 35 USC § 103(a) by ruling:
A court must ask whether the improvement is more than the predictable use of prior art elements according to their established functions.
[A prior art] analysis need not seek out precise teachings directed to the specific subject matter of the challenged claim, for a court can take account of the inferences and creative steps that a person of ordinary skill in the art would employ.
Many inventions which were once patentable may no longer be eligible for patent protection. Similarly, many issued patents may find it more difficult to overcome validity challenges. Our searchers are trained to review prior art in light of KSR. For patentability and invalidity searches, we seek out patents which may be merely incremental improvements over your invention or patent at issue.