How does the USPTO evaluate rebuttal evidence for obviousness rejections?

The USPTO evaluates rebuttal evidence for obviousness rejections by considering all relevant evidence and weighing it appropriately. As stated in MPEP 2145:

“Office personnel should not evaluate rebuttal evidence for its ‘knockdown’ value against the prima facie case, Piasecki, 745 F.2d at 1473, 223 USPQ at 788, or summarily dismiss it as not compelling or insufficient. Office personnel should weigh all relevant evidence of record in order to determine whether the claims would have been obvious based on a preponderance (more likely than not) standard, and then explain their conclusions.“

This means examiners must:

• Consider all rebuttal evidence presented
• Weigh the evidence appropriately
• Determine if the totality of the evidence shows the claims are non-obvious
• Explain their conclusions based on the preponderance of evidence standard

Examiners should not dismiss evidence outright, but evaluate its persuasiveness in the context of the entire record.

To learn more:

• rebuttal evidence
• obviousness rejection
• patent examination
• preponderance of evidence