On July 22, 2022, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB)
reversed an examiner's assertion of obviousness in the case
of Ex parte Jaeger (Appeal 2021-002641, USSN
15/559,117). The issue in Jaeger was whether
the addition of known element to a prior art device was obvious
where the combination was not consistent the purpose / operation of
the prior art device.
The main claim on appeal in Ex parte Jaeger
recited, with underlined portions having been added in
prosecution,
[a] device comprising:
a filter holder, the filter holder comprising a tip
portion;
a nonwoven article disposed on an exterior
surface of the tip portion of the filter holder;
and
an adaptor attached to the filter holder, the adaptor defining
an aperture,
