Inre: Danielle Shield
Inre: Danielle Shield
Opinion
Case: 13-1562 Document: 17 Page: 1 Filed: 04/16/2014
NOTE: This order is nonprecedential.
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ______________________
IN RE DANIELLE RENEE FORGET SHIELD ______________________
2013-1562 ______________________
Appeal from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Patent Trial and Appeal Board in Serial No. 10/799,826. ______________________
ON MOTION ______________________
Before PROST, O’MALLEY, and TARANTO, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM. ORDER The Director of the United States Patent and Trade- mark Office moves to waive the requirements of Fed. Cir. R. 27(f) and to remand to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board for further proceedings. Danielle Renee Forget Shield opposes. The Director replies. The primary issue on appeal is whether the Board erred in affirming the examiner’s rejection of the repre- sentative claim as obvious under 35 U.S.C. § 103. Specifi- cally, Shield challenges the Board’s reliance on the Kasik reference as teaching the “adapted to” element of the claim. Case: 13-1562 Document: 17 Page: 2 Filed: 04/16/2014
2 IN RE DANIELLE SHIELD
The Director notes that the Board did not make a finding about whether the reference teaches that limita- tion. Rather, the Director states that the Board mistak- enly concluded that Shield had not challenged the limitation and only on that basis accepted the limitation as present in the art. The Director concedes that the Board’s current rationale is incomplete and could not be adequately reviewed or defended because it lacks ade- quate findings. As a result, the Director seeks a remand so the Board can take appropriate action. We agree with the Director’s reading of the Board decision. As a result, we remand for the Board to reassess its obviousness analysis in light of the Director’s concession of error. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT: (1) The motion is granted. The Board’s decision is vacated and the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this order. (2) Each side shall bear its own costs. FOR THE COURT
/s/ Daniel E. O’Toole Daniel E. O’Toole Clerk of Court s25 ISSUED AS A MANDATE: April 16, 2014
Reference
- Status
- Unpublished