Case: Patents/Obviousness (P.T.A.B.)

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board determined that challenged claims of Lytone Enterprise Inc.'s patent for a novel tablet dosage formulation for regulating plant physiology by counteracting the response of the plant to the growth hormone ethylene are unpatentable as obvious over prior art, in an inter partes review by AgroFresh Solutions Inc. The board determined that the challenged claims are obvious over a translation of a Japanese patent application that teaches an effervescent tablet preparation for keeping cut flower freshness, and a prior patent that discloses methods for inhibiting the ethylene response in plants.