WHIPgroup successfully appealed rejections of a patent application directed to a surgical system. The system includes a hollow shaft and a shaft-type instrument that is secured within the hollow shaft in a manner to provide a rinsing area for transmitting liquid agents. The Examiner had rejected the claims as allegedly being obvious over a combination of two references. On Appeal, WHIPgroup argued that several claimed elements were missing in the prior art and that one reference taught away from configuring a rinsing area between the interior surface of a hollow shaft and the exterior surface of an instrument. The reference specifically disclosed a distal window sealing an instrument lumen to prevent exposure of an instrument to bodily fluids, thereby discouraging the need for a rinsing area. The PTAB was convinced by WHIPgroup’s arguments and reversed the Examiner’s rejections. Issuance of a patent containing all pending claims is expected in due course.
Under U.S. law, anyone who uses a system that is likely to have been made by a patented process, and who does not demonstrate that the system was not made by the patented process, is [Read More…]
Recently, WHIPGROUP engaged in an arbitration that included a five day hearing in the City. Here are some thoughts about why arbitration is different (not clearly better or worse) than litigation. Venue The AAA arbitral [Read More…]
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