I would agree that this invention may well be novel, but if KSR means anything don’t you think that this type of invention should be considered obvious? I do not think the Supremes understand patent law at all, and I think the KSR decision is ridiculous and ought to be legislated to irrelevance, but in the meantime how can the Patent Office issue any kind of KRS rejections and allow patents like this to issue?

I would personally have no problem with allowing patents like this if it were done across the board. In order to make sure though that unsophisticated independent inventors are not harmed I would also really like to see the Patent Office go after the invention submission industry. Then have the new practice rules that went into effect on September 15, 2008, but as yet seem uninterested in enforcing them.

Thanks for the comments.

-Gene

First of all, the claims to this invention cover a “built-in” wax paper layer in the container, which is something I have never seen before. So it would appear to be novel, to me anyway.

If it’s novel, it gets allowed. That’s how it works. It does not appear to be a trivial variation on the prior art to me. How DOES one integrate the waxed paper into a foam container?

And given the millions of these containers made, an improvement in such containers is not necessarily “frivilous”. If you ran a company making such containers, this patent would be as important to you as some software patent is to Microsoft.

Yes, there is a huge backlog in the more technical arts like computers, software, and biotech.

That is because there is a shortage of Examiners in those arts. You can’t a guy who examines food containers and just ship him to a EE unit and ask him to examine microprocessors.

So the mechanical arts (like this case) have a shorter backlog (12-18 months) where as the EE arts are running 36-48 months in some instances.

And note that this food container patent still had a pendency of over THREE YEARS.

Unfortunately, that seems to be the way it has been running for the last few years. Recent trends – restriction requirements on EVERY case, premature FINAL rejections to force RCE filings – seem to be delaying the process even further.

And don’t get me started on the new Appeals procedures (effecitve Decemebr 8th). Examiners are making 6-way restriction requirements with a straight face, and if you want to appeal, well, boy howdy you’d better get the new format right.

FWIW.