Randall MFG v Rea

On appeal from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Board of Appeals and Interferences, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated and remanded the Board’s finding of non-obviousness and that the examiner incorrectly found a motivation to combine references in the prior art to reject the claimed invention.  The Federal Circuit found that the “expansive and flexible approach” set forth in KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex, Inc. requires that common knowledge and common sense be factored into the motivation to combine references.  The Federal Circuit opinion can be found here.  Randall MFG v Rea