The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that a prior art reference that discloses a brand range, which encompasses narrower claimed range, is sufficient to establish prima facie obviousness. In re Peterson, Case No. 02-1129 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 8, 2003).
Peterson’s application included the claims directed to a nickel-base alloy. The claims required about 1 to 3 percent rhenium, about 14 percent chromium and other specified ranges of specific elements. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences affirmed the examiner’s rejection of the claims as obvious in view of a prior art reference that disclosed a similar alloy but taught broader ranges. Specifically, the ranges taught in the prior art reference were rhenium (as an optional ingredient) in the range of 0 to 7 percent, chromium 3 to 18 percent. The prior art also disclosed a preferred alloy containing no rhenium. Peterson appealed.
