Clean sources of groundwater are incredibly important to the general population of the United States. More than 50 percent of the U.S. population relies on groundwater sources for their drinking water according to The Groundwater Foundation. These groundwater sources are susceptible to contamination from various sources including chemical storage tanks, uncontrolled hazardous waste sites, residential and commercial septic systems, road…
Applying KSR, the Federal Circuit concluded that combining elements from the cited prior art would have yielded a predictable result, namely the system fan would activate periodically following the end of a heating or cooling cycle as claimed in the ‘017 patent. The Court further found motivation or rationale for combining the references in the nature of the problem addressed. The Federal Circuit also rejected ABT’s arguments regarding the objective evidence of nonobviousness, namely commercial success and long felt need.