How does AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 affect the determination of obviousness?

AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 has modified the determination of obviousness in patent examination. The key changes include:

• Elimination of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(c), which provided a safe harbor for commonly owned prior art or prior art resulting from a joint research agreement.
• Introduction of a new prior art exception under AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for commonly owned disclosures or those subject to an obligation of assignment.
• Expansion of the scope of prior art that can be used in obviousness rejections.

As stated in MPEP 2158: “AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 continues to apply the Graham v. John Deere Co. obviousness factors set forth in MPEP § 2141.”

To learn more:

• AIA
• 35 U.S.C. 103
• obviousness
• patent examination