Board finds examiner doth protest too much; reverses obviousness rejection *

USA - July 27 2012
In Ex Parte Ransquin, the Board reversed the Examiner’s obviousness rejection noting that the Examiner’s “continued reference” in his Answer to what the prior art discloses, evidenced “a fundamental misunderstanding by the Examiner of the difference between what references teach or disclose and what a proposed combination of references would have suggested to a person of ordinary skill in the art.”

Board finds examiner’s sole reliance on a per se rule of obviousness improper *

USA - May 25 2012
In Ex Parte Nakhamkin, the Board reversed the examiner’s obviousness rejection as relying solely on a per se rule of obviousness.

Board reverses examiner’s rejection as based on mere conclusory statements *

USA - March 20 2012
In Ex Parte Jansen (Appeal 2010-002637, in Application Serial No. 11/185,527, decision issued March 13, 2012), the BPAI reversed the examiner’s finding of obviousness and reiterated the importance of the examiner’s requirement to articulate a rational basis for finding of obviousness.