McCoy v. Heal Systems, LLC

Summary

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's decision in an inter partes review finding claims of U.S. Patent No. 9,790,779 unpatentable as anticipated and/or obvious. The court held that the Board did not improperly define a person of ordinary skill in the art by recognizing access to experts and that any perceived error did not affect the outcome. The court further concluded that substantial evidence supported the Board's obviousness determination.

Holdings

1. The Board did not commit reversible error in adopting or applying a POSA definition that contemplated access to an expert. Any perceived error did not result in incorrect unpatentability findings because McCoy identified no instance in which expert-level knowledge was applied and led to an erroneous conclusion.
2. Substantial evidence supported the Board's determination that the challenged claims were unpatentable, including the obviousness determination based on Barnhart in view of Gilbert.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Board legally erred by defining a person of ordinary skill in the art as having access to or the ability to consult with other experts.
2. Whether substantial evidence supported the Board's patentability determinations, including its reliance on the challenged patent's specification to identify conventional matter and its obviousness findings based on Barnhart and Gilbert.

Disposition

affirmed