Disinfection Patent Improperly Nixed by Agency, Fed. Cir. Says

A patent on using light as a disinfectant was wrongly invalidated by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, the Federal Circuit ruled.

The board found all claims of the University of Strathclyde’s U.S. Patent No. 9,839,706 obvious over two scientific articles and an earlier patent application.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed the ruling in a precedential opinion. The board improperly found that the earlier inventions disclosed all of the aspects of the patent and that a skilled artisan would have a reasonable expectation of success in combining those inventions, the court said.

Lighting maker ...