Appellants lose on obviousness in Ex parte Ban

KSR is cited in Ex parte Ban


“The combination of familiar elements according to known methods
is likely to be obvious when it does no more than yield predictable results.”
KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 416 (2007).
“If a person of ordinary skill can implement a predictable variation, §
103 likely bars its patentability.” Id. at 417. As noted by the Court in KSR,
“[a] person of ordinary skill is also a person of ordinary creativity, not an
automaton.” 550 U.S. at 421.