High Court Eases Current Patent Standard | World Latest | Guardian Unlimited: "Until now, a challenger seeking to invalidate a patent must be able to show that all parts of a claimed invention were known previously. In addition, the challenger must show that there is a prior ``teaching, suggestion or motivation'' to combine these prior technologies to produce the invention. Patent examiners use the same test at the front end of the process when companies are seeking patent protection for their claimed inventions.
In the past two decades, patent applications have more than tripled to more than 440,000 a year. The government approves more than half of the patents sought. Washington attorney Robert Greene Sterne, representing Teleflex, said obtaining a patent will undoubtedly become harder, cost more to pursue and take more time to reach a final decision."
