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Obviousness Found Even When the Burden to Prove Inherency Remains on Examiner
| October 18, 2017
SOUTHWIRE COMPANY v. CERRO WIRE LLC
September 8, 2017
Before Lourie, Moore and Hughes. Opinion by Lourie.
Summary
Southwire Co. (the patent owner) owns No. 7,557,301 (the ’301 patent). An inter parte reexamination is initiated by a third party requestor, Cerro wire LLC (the requester). All the claims of the ’301 patent are found obvious over prior art references under 35 U.S.C. § 103. It is decided in the reexamination that one of the combinations of cited references inherently discloses a claimed parameter at issue. CAFC affirms PTAB’s conclusion that the claims are unpatentable as obvious, while rejecting part of the reasoning that the claimed parameter is inherently disclosed in the cited references.
Japanese Summary
本件特許はケーブルのジャケットの材料に潤滑剤を含ませて製造することで、完成したケーブル表面のフリクションを減らし、ケーブルをビル内等に設置するのに必要な引っ張り力を減少させることができるケーブルの製造方法に関する。当事者系再審査請求において、特許クレームは先行技術文献から自明であると拒絶され、審判部もその結論を支持した。特許権者は、主要引用例（Summers）にクレームの数値限定（ケーブルを設置するために引っ張る力を少なくとも30％減少させる特性）が内在的に（inherently）開示されているから自明であるとした特許庁の認定を不服として、巡回区控訴裁判所（CAFC）に提訴した。
CAFCは、前記引用例はケーブル表面のフリクションや設置のための力を測定しておらず、開示されている製法が必然的に（necessarily）クレームの数値限定を達成できること示す事実・証拠がないため、クレームの数値限定が内在的に開示されているという特許庁の認定は間違いであると指摘し、内在的開示の存在を否定した。内在的な開示は認められないが、その一方で主要引用例には製造時に潤滑剤を混入してフリクションの小さいケーブルを製造し得るプロセス自体は教示されているので、先行技術を克服するためにはクレーム限定が予期せぬ結果であることを示さなければならないとし、本件では予期せぬ結果の証明がないことを理由に発明が自明であるとの結論を支持した。
特許クレームは先行技術の製法とほぼ同一に見えるが、特許権者が定義したパラメータ（ケーブルを設置するために必要な力の範囲）をクレームすることで特許になった製法である。このようなパラメータ特許でも、先行技術の製法で「必ず」同じ結果が得られることを特許庁が示さなければ内在的な開示を認定してはいけないことが示唆された。しかし、他方で、先行技術と製法が実質的に同じである点で自明性が仮定されるので、出願人はそのパラメータ限定が予期せぬ効果であること示す証明責任があることが示唆された。
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