Application of Samour
United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals
571 F.2d 559, 197 U.S.P.Q. 1 (1978)
- Written by Eric Miller, JD
Facts
Carlos Samour filed a patent application for a type of phenobarbital compound. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) examiner rejected the application on the ground that every element of the chemical compound had been disclosed by Doran, a printed-publication article. Samour argued that Doran was nonenabling because it disclosed only the structural formula for the compound, not a method for preparing it. The examiner relied on an existing patent (the Henze patent) as a secondary prior-art source, arguing that the Henze patent provided a teaching of how to synthesize a phenobarbital derived from the compound contained in Doran. Thus, the examiner argued, the compound claimed by Samour’s application was already known to the public. The PTO board of appeals affirmed the application rejection. Samour appealed to the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Miller, J.)
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