In re Magnum Oil Tools International, Ltd.
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
829 F.3d 1364 (2016)
- Written by Eric Miller, JD
Facts
McClinton Energy Group, LLC (McClinton) petitioned the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) for inter partes review of a patent held by Magnum Oil Tools International, Ltd. (Magnum). In its petition, McClinton argued that the subject matter of the patent would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the relevant field at the time of the patent based on a combination of prior-art references. The PTO’s Patent Trial and Appeals Board (the board) accepted McClinton’s obviousness argument without requiring proof. The board then held that the burden shifted to Magnum to prove nonobviousness and that Magnum had failed to carry that burden. This resulted in the board’s invalidation of the challenged claims. Magnum appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (O’Malley, J.)
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