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

Challenged claims of a patent that discloses a CMP pad dresser having leveled tips and associated methods are unpatentable as obvious over prior art, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board said, in an inter partes review by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Samsung Electronics America Inc., Samsung Semiconductor Inc., and Samsung Austin Semiconductor. The board determined that the challenged claims are obvious over various combinations of prior art, including prior art that relates to a grinding tool and a method for fabricating the same, and a journal article titled “Polycrystalline Diamond (PCD) Shaving Dresser: The Ultimate Diamond Disk (UDD) for CMP ...