Here are a few things that I learned about Obviousness through my Google search on the topic:
Graham v. John Deere Co. was the Supreme Court case that first drew upon the idea of obviousness, which took place in 1966. The ultimate decree of the case was that the following analytical framework should be considered when deciding whether a patent is obvious or not:
Determine the scope and content of the prior art
Ascertain the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art
Resolve the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art
Consider the objective indicia of non-obviousnes
Obviousness isn't very predictable because it's very subjective in nature.
In 2007, KSR v Teleflex (which we learned about in class) was an incredibly influential Supreme Court case in the patent world.
the teaching, suggestion or motivation test was declared too restrictive, although the TSM test had facilitated patent creation during the previous 30 years.
By saying that "common sense" should be used to decide whether a patent is obvious or not, the Supreme Court increasing the subjectivity of deciding whether an idea for a new patent is obvious or not. The Court didn't really define what it meant by common sense, so a lot of room was left for interpretation
Obviousness is typically unevenly applied by patent examiners; because they have a lot of discretion in their choosing of patents, patent examiners pass some ideas way too easily while stunting the patenting process of others harshly.
Maybe the patent world needs a bit more regulation through better structured guidelines for their patent examiners.
Obviousness in the patent world means that a person having ordinary
skills in that respective art would not have easily thought of an idea given
the plurality of the prior art. In my opinion, the following patents are all
very similar. I did notice that the authors of the patents included specific
rhetoric to differentiate their particular patents as original ideas. Despite
their similarity, one can argue that the changes of the patents are incremental
improvements rather than peculiarly insignificant changes for the sake of
having different patents that allow the respective inventors the ability to
manufacture these goods without the need of licensing from previous inventors’ patent
ideas.
The first time that the idea of a thermal-beverage-related patent was
established was 1948 with the thermal coffee cup. Here, Delbert Phinney described
his patent as a hand-held container that was adapted to withhold hot
substances.
From there, the idea was restructured by James Arthur Rule who patented
the sleeve construction for improved paperboard cup insulation in November of
2000. His idea differed from Phinney’s in that his protective sleeves had
hot-melt glue dots that improved the insulating abilities of the paperboard
cup.
Following Rule’s improvement, Liming Cai created a patent for the
insulating sleeve in 2002. Cai’s patent further describes the abilities of the “insulating”
sleeve, as it could be used for both hot and cold beverages, as well as paperboard
and non-paper cups.
Although John Katchko et al filed a patent for the thermal sleeve, Method
for manufacturing a thermal sleeve and combination cup and thermal sleeve in
2005, their patent was not issues until 2012. Their patent goes into depth in
describing what the thermal sleeve is composed of: it has top and bottom
openings that allow the cup to go through the sleeve; an inner, creped paper
lining; and an adhesive holding that rings the sleeve around the cup.
In 2007, three different patents applications were filed regarding the
thermal sleeves: all three were patented.
In March of 2007, Kevin Prince patented the insulator sleeve for a beverage
container, which is distinguished by its disposable nature and ability to be
used repeatedly. Moreover, these sleeves could be made of biodegradable
materials, so as to leave less of a negative impact on the environment through
the manufacturing of said product. Unlike previous patents, this one describes
the different types of cups, such as the frusto-conical beverage cup, and
sleeves, like the transparent or disposable sleeves, that are a part of the
patent. His idea was patented in April 2011.
In December of 2007, Wendy and Donald LaGuardia filed the patent for the
temperature-indicating sleeve and related container. What distinguishes this
sleeve from the rest is that it has a temperature indicator on the sleeve,
which improves the customer’s interaction with very hot or cold beverage
containers. The LaGuardia’s idea was patented on February 21st of
2012.
In August of 2007, Andrew Raymond Spriegel et al filed the beverage cup
sleeving system and method. This contraption is differs from the previous
patents in that the sleeve is elastomeric and manufactured with a liquid
crystal that changes color with temperature fluctuations. Published in 2008, this
idea was patented far quicker than the previous two inventions. It was probably
easier for the USPTO to patent this idea because of the addition of crystal
liquid to the sleeve, as this clearly distinction the idea from the others,
whereas the other two patent files may have required more editing and research
in order to be differentiated enough to become new patents.
In 2009, the protective sleeve’s patent application was filed. Unlike
former designs of thermal sleeves, this protective sleeve has one or more
arch-like shapes; this arch-like shape is said to improve the efficiency of the
material used in manufacturing these sleeves and decrease the environmental waste
emitted through the sleeves’ manufacturing process. Barry Silverstein et al
patented this protective sleeve in January of 2010. The efficiency that the
change in shape brought to the thermal sleeve was probably a clear improvement of
previous sleeve patents, which is why this application was published in less
than a year.
The last patent application was filed in February, 2014 by Eugene Chun.
His patent is the hot and cold, disposable cup sleeve with water-absorbent
lining, a water-repellent outer layer, and a coating laminate layer that is
bound to the outer layer. This outer layer is made up of polypropylene,
polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, viscous rayon, acrylic, aramid, and
nylon and is enclosed to provide a safe and comfortable.
Published in June of 2014, the patent was probably published in such a
quick manner because it was easily distinguished by the thorough description of
the lining and outer layer.
I will briefly summarize similar 6 patents and 3 patent applications. Although
these patents are similar in nature, they are all explained in manners that
differentiate them as unique ideas. At least, this is what those who approved
the patents believed.
Patent 1: The Insulating Sleeve (US
6343735 B1)
Filed by Liming
Cai from Dopaco Inc on May 4th of 2000, this patent is for an
insulating sleeve for a beverage container. This sleeve is meant to keep one
from burning himself while trying to pick up a hot beverage. This sleeve can
also be used for either hot or cold beverages held in both paperboard and
non-paper cups.
Patent 2: The Thermal Coffee Cup (US
2661889)
Surprisingly,
the first thermal coffee cup was patented on July 20th, 1948 by
Delbert Phinney of Sherman, Tex. Phinney’s thermal coffee cup is described as a
hand-held container that is able to withstand hot substances. Moreover, this
cup is made of paper and has a cover cap that can be torn in order to allow a
person to drink the hot liquid.
Patent 3: Thermal Sleeve, Method for
Manufacturing a Thermal Sleeve and Combination Cup and Thermal Sleeve (US 8,251,277)
On April
15th, 2005, John Katchko and David Raymond Uitenbroek filed this
patent through Wausau Paper Mills, LLC of Wisconsin. The method for
manufacturing a thermal sleeve and combination cup and thermal sleeve is, in
essence, a description of what the thermal sleeve is composed of: it has a
creped paper inner-lining, top and bottom openings that allow the cup to go
through the sleeve, and an adhesive holding that brings both ends of the sleeve
together so that they enclose the cup. Like the insulating sleeve, the thermal
sleeve can be used for both warm and cool beverages. This patent also goes into
depth in describing the different components of the thermal sleeve and how they
are made.
Patent 4: Insulator Sleeve for a
Beverage Container (US 7,922,031)
In March 1st,
2007, Kevin R. Prince patented the insulator sleeve for a beverage container. This
sleeve is referred to as a device that is disposable in nature and can be used
repeatedly. Some of these sleeves are made with biodegradable material
materials so as to not harm the environment. Unfortunately, they can be
problematic to the barista’s creative customization, as these sleeves often hide
words and images written on the cup. Unlike previous patents, this one goes
further into depth about the different types of cups, such as the frusto-conical
beverage cup, and sleeves, like the transparent or disposable sleeves, that can
be used.
Patent 5: Temperature-indicating
Sleeve and Related Container (US 8118189)
Wendy and
Donald LaGuardia filed the patent for the temperature-indicating sleeve and
related container on December 14th, 2007 through New Jersey’s Cups
Unlimited LLC. What distinguishes this sleeve from the rest is that it has a
temperature indicator, which is labeled and drawn on the sleeve itself. Various
visuals are within the patent to depict the various ways in which the
temperature indicators may be displayed on the cup. Unlike the other sleeves,
this one claims to be the simplest to produce, inexpensive to purchase, and most
accurate in measuring the beverage’s temperature.
Patent 6: Sleeve Construction for Improved
Paperboard Cup Insulation (US 6152363)
In May 3,
1999, James Arthur Rule filed the sleeve construction for improved paperboard
cup insulation. The invention consists of protective sleeves for paperboard
cups that have hot-melt glue dots, which improve the insulating abilities of
said paper cup. The patent has detailed graphs that depict the sleeve and show
the varying temperatures at which the hot-melt glue insulates air.
Application 1: Beverage cup Sleeving
System and Method (US 20080078824 A1)
Filed in
August of 2007, this patent application describes a cup insulating system that
has a conical sleeve. The cups can be plastic or paper, while the sleeve is elastomeric
and manufactured with a liquid crystal that changes color with temperature fluctuations.
Moreover, the sleeve is microwave safe, shippable in a flattened condition, and
may also have Velcro attached to it. The beverage containers also have an
insulating ring that is made of either silicone and/or rubber and can contain
printed matter on its exterior surface.
In 2009, Barry
Silverstein et al filed a patent for the protective sleeve, which has at least
one arch-like shape that reduces material costs and environmental waste through
the material efficiency of its manufacturing. This arch-like sleeve has at
least one peak and one trough, has a blank area made of biodegradable paper, completely
conceals the area of the container that it covers, and accommodates at least
two fingers and a thumb of the person holding the cup.
Application 3: Hot and Cold Cup
Sleeve (US 20140151385 A1)
Eugene
Chun filed the patent application in 2014 for the hot and cold, disposable cup
sleeve with water-absorbent lining, a water-repellent outer layer, and a
coating laminate layer that is bound to this outer layer. This outer layer is
made up of polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, viscous
rayon, acrylic, aramid, and nylon and is enclosed to provide a safe and
comfortable.
