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

Some challenged claims of Godo Kaisha IP Bridge 1’s patent that relates to a magnetic tunnel junction device with a high magnetoresistance are unpatentable as obvious over prior art, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board said, in an inter partes review by Western Digital Technologies Inc. According to the board, some claims are obvious over various combinations of prior art, including prior art that describes that magnetoresistance of magnetic tunnel junctions is of uncontested interest for important applications, and that discloses high performance magnetic tunnel barriers with amorphous materials. And the board denied Western Digital’s motion to strike, and denied ...