Another Ex Parte Appeal Win at the PTAB

June, 8th, 2017

Categories: Articles, Blog, News Tags: patent, PTAB, whipgroup

WHIPgroup was again successful in reversing an examiner’s rejections before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). The claimed invention is directed to a configurable control system for an operating room. At issue were limitations that “the operating room control system is soft configurable such that the icons and the video output are configured and presented on said touchscreen based upon a user’s defined configuration.” This allows a user to predefine and change configurations for maximum freedom. The Examiner rejected the claims on the basis that a prior art control system has “equivalent structure.” On Appeal, WHIPgroup argued that the claimed system requires a particularly programmed machine and the prior art failed to show configurable icons for control of medical equipment. The Board agreed with WHIPgroup’s arguments and reversed the Examiner, rejecting the Examiner’s inherency arguments that the prior art was “capable of” the claimed configurability.

Read the decision.