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ARTICLE · 29 APRIL 2021

A Case Where Non-Enabled Art Failed To Establish Obviousness

Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP
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The Federal Circuit held that the relied-upon prior art failed to enable one of ordinary skill to make and use the claimed invention.

United StatesIntellectual Property
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP
Shannon Patrick
Shannon Patrick
Stacy Lewis
Stacy Lewis
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Holding

In Raytheon Technologies Corp. v. General Electric Co., 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 10961 (Fed. Cir., Apr. 16, 2021), the Federal Circuit (Judges Chen, Lourie, and Hughes) reversed the PTAB's Final Written Decision that certain challenged claims of Raytheon's U.S. Patent No. 9,695,751 ("the '751 patent") would have been unpatentable as obvious. The Federal Circuit held that the relied-upon prior art failed to enable one of ordinary skill to make and use the claimed invention.

Background

Raytheon's patent is directed to gas turbine engines and recites a "'power density' range." The claims read, in relevant part:

  1. A gas turbine engine comprising:
    a fan including a plurality of fan blades . . . ; a compressor section; a combustor in fluid communication with the compressor section; turbine section in fluid communication with the combustor, the turbine section including a fan drive turbine and a second turbine . . . ; and a speed change system configured to be

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