October, 14th, 2020

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

WHIPgroup has prevailed in another patent appeal before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). The invention relates to an adjustable piston with an inner plastic nut that helps withstand high frequency pulsing loads. The Patent Office rejected the claims by relying on a prior art linear drive system, arguing that it would have allegedly been obvious to modify it with a plastic nut “for the purpose of smoother operation.” WHIPgroup responded with arguments that a linear drive system experiences different types of forces and so has different motivations than a piston with a pulsing load. The PTAB agreed with WHIPgroup, reversing all rejections and concluding that the Patent Office had used improper hindsight.