By Donald Zuhn —

Last Friday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that it has sent draft obviousness examination guidelines to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review.  The draft training guidelines are to be used by examiners in determining whether a claimed invention is obvious in view of the Supreme Court’s decision in KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc.

The draft guidelines, which the Patent Office did not release, will be posted on the USPTO website after the OMB concludes its review.  According to the USPTO release, however, the Patent Office will begin training examiners "on implementation of KSR" while awaiting the results of the OMB review.

For additional information regarding the KSR decision, please see:

• "IPLAC Panel Discussion of KSR v. Teleflex," May 18, 2007
• "Trying to Understand What’s Not Obvious about What’s ‘Obvious to Try,’" May 16, 2007
• "Like a Penny Saved for a Rainy Day (Albeit, Unintentionally): The Renewed Relevance of 35 U.S.C. § 103(b)," May 13, 2007
• "BIO’s Reaction to KSR v. Teleflex," May 8, 2007
• "Implications of the Supreme Court’s KSR v. Teleflex Decision for Biotechnology," May 4, 2007
• "The Patent Office Reacts to KSR: A First Look," May 3, 2007
• "KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc. (2007)," April 30, 2007