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

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board said that some challenged claims of Delta Faucet Co.'s patent directed to an illumination device for a spray head or a pendant showerhead are unpatentable as obvious over prior art, in an inter partes review by Kohler Co. The board determined that some claims are obvious over prior art that discloses a pull-out faucet including a spray head mounted on a body, and that illumination lamps included in faucets conventionally have been powered with an external power supply connected to the lamps using electrical wiring or by a battery mounted in the faucet’s spout. ...