NOTE: This disposition is nonprecedential.

United States Court of Appeals 

for the Federal Circuit ______________________

IN RE: ROBERT D. KROSS,

Appellant

______________________

2020-1056

______________________

Appeal from the United States Patent and Trademark 

Office, Patent Trial and Appeal Board in No. 13/275,400.

______________________

Decided: August 11, 2020

______________________

EDWIN DAVID SCHINDLER, Huntington, NY, for appellant. 

 MARY L. KELLY, Office of the Solicitor, United States 

Patent and Trademark Office, Alexandria, VA, for appellee 

Andrei Iancu. Also represented by THOMAS W. KRAUSE,

AMY J. NELSON, FARHEENA YASMEEN RASHEED. 

 ______________________

Before PROST, Chief Judge, NEWMAN and O’MALLEY,

Circuit Judges.

O’MALLEY, Circuit Judge.

Appellant Robert D. Kross (“Kross”) appeals the Patent 

Trial and Appeal Board’s (“Board’s”) determination that 

claims 31–50 of Kross’s patent application, No. 13/275,400 

Case: 20-1056 Document: 31 Page: 1 Filed: 08/11/2020
2 IN RE: KROSS

(“the ’400 Application”), would have been obvious under 35 

U.S.C. § 103(a). For the reasons explained below, we affirm the Board’s decision.

BACKGROUND

The ’400 Application relates generally to non-gelatin 

viscoelastic printing plates and the use of such plates in 

monotype printing. A monotype print is typically made by 

pressing a piece of paper against an inked surface. A stated 

objective of the purported invention is to provide a reusable, durable, and readily-cleanable gel printing plate that 

artists may be able to use “without a need for a press or 

other type of pressure tool.” J.A. 19. Kross contends that 

the purported invention overcomes the problems of “cracking, splitting and just plain ‘falling apart,’” which are inherent in printing plates made of gelatin. Appellant’s 

Br. 8. 

It is undisputed that claim 31, reproduced below, is 

representative. 

A printing method using a non-gelatin, viscoelastic

gel printing plate, comprising the steps of:

applying a layer of paint to a non-gelatin, viscoelastic gel printing plate comprising a viscoelastic 

gel composition having a viscoelastic polymer selected from the group consisting of a hydrogenated 

poly-isoprene/butadiene polymer, poly(styrene-butadiene-styrene), poly(styrene-butadiene)n,

poly(styrene-iso-prene-styrene), poly-(styrene-isoprene)n, poly(styrene-ethylene-propylene),

poly(styrene-ethylene-propylene-styrene)n,

poly(styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene)n, poly(styrene-ethylene-butylene), poly(styrene-ethylenepropylene)n, poly(styrene-ethylene-butylene)n, polystyrene, polybutylene, poly(ethylene-propylene), 

poly(ethylene-butylene), polypropylene, polyethylene, polyurethane, polyethylene and silicone, and 

Case: 20-1056 Document: 31 Page: 2 Filed: 08/11/2020
IN RE: KROSS 3

a combination thereof, and a plasticizing oil, said 

viscoelastic gel composition excludes gelatin and 

has a smooth surface formed as a sheet and shaped 

for use as said non-gelatin, viscoelastic gel printing 

plate;

laying over said non-gelatin, viscoelastic gel printing plate a surface onto which said layer of paint 

for creating a print is to be transferred; and,

transferring at least a portion of said layer of paint 

from said non-gelatin, viscoelastic gel printing 

plate to said surface via pressure for producing said 

print,

said method for producing said print using said 

non-gelatin printing plate being capable of being 

performed either with a pressure tool, without said 

pressure tool and solely with the pressure being applied by a hand of a person, or with both said pressure tool and the pressure being applied by the 

hand of a person.

J.A. 34–35. Claim 39, the other independent claim on appeal, further recites limitations requiring the production of 

a second print. J.A. 4, 36–37. The examiner rejected 

claims 31–50 as obvious over at least one of five combinations of prior art references. Kross appealed to the Board, 

which affirmed the examiner’s rejections. 

In its decision affirming the examiner’s rejections, the 

Board noted that this was the third time it was reviewing 

“similar claims” based on the ’400 Application. J.A. 2. It 

rejected Kross’s argument that the purported invention 

represents a new use for a known material and meets a 

long-felt and unmet need of solving the cracking problems 

that were a hallmark of gelatin plates. J.A. 6. The Board 

concluded that a person of skill in the art “would have expected . . . that the properties of the viscoelastic gel compositions” described in the prior art “would likely address the 

Case: 20-1056 Document: 31 Page: 3 Filed: 08/11/2020
4 IN RE: KROSS

[same] problems.” J.A. 6–7. The Board found that the examiner’s rejections were consistent with prior findings of 

fact and conclusions of obviousness addressing Kross’s 

now-cancelled, similar claims for the ’400 Application. 

J.A. 6.1 For example, the Board had previously found that 

the prior art recognized the splitting and cracking problem 

with gelatin, and that this would have prompted a person 

of skill in the art “to consider materials having similar 

properties, but less prone to splitting,” such as the viscoelastic materials claimed by Kross. J.A. 271. Accordingly, 

the Board credited the examiner’s findings, noting that a 

person of skill in the art would have a “reasonable expectation of successfully solving a known problem using known 

properties of a known material.” J.A. 7 (citing In re Vaeck, 

947 F.2d 488, 493 (Fed. Cir. 1991). The Board also rejected 

Kross’s arguments directed to objective indicia of non-obviousness. J.A. 7–9. 

On appeal, Kross challenges the Board’s conclusions 

with respect to one prior art reference combination: Singular Impressions,2 Taylor,3 and Chen.4 Singular Impressions discloses monotype printing using a glass or metal 

printing plate, but not a gel printing plate. J.A. 587. It 

teaches that “[i]n its purest and simplest form, a monotype 

1 The Board noted that Kross’s previously rejected 

claims differed from his current claims only in their inclusion of a washing step and requirements of reusing the 

plates and application of pressure by hand. J.A. 4. 

2 Printout of Singular Impressions, the monotype process, http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/onli

ne/monotypes/video.html. as captured by the WaybackMachine on April 14, 2009.

3 Printout of http://marytaylorart.com/FAQ/FAQ

GelatinPrint.htm as captured by WaybackMachine on October 19, 2009. 4 U.S. Patent No. 7,159,259. 

Case: 20-1056 Document: 31 Page: 4 Filed: 08/11/2020
IN RE: KROSS 5

is made by drawing with printer’s ink or oil paint on a 

smooth surface such as glass or a metal plate.” Id. It also 

teaches that the image can be transferred to paper using 

hand pressure. Id. By contrast, Taylor discloses how to 

prepare gelatin printing plates for use in monotype printing. J.A. 588. Chen, on the other hand, discloses non-gelatin, gel polymers, primarily for use in medical devices. 

J.A. 599. The parties agree that Chen does not disclose the 

use of these materials in the context of printing. The parties also agree that a fourth prior art reference, Germain,5

discloses the problems with using gelatin printing plates. 

J.A. 177–182; J.A. 306–312. 

Kross timely filed a notice of appeal. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1295(a)(4). 

DISCUSSION

“We review Board decisions in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 706(2).” HTC Corp. 

v. Cellular Comm’ns Equip., LLC, 877 F.3d 1361, 1367 

(Fed. Cir. 2017). Under the APA, “we review the Board’s 

legal conclusions de novo and its factual findings for substantial evidence.” Id. “Substantial evidence . . . means 

such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept 

as adequate to support a conclusion.” Consol. Edison Co. 

v. NLRB, 305 U.S. 197, 229 (1938). Obviousness is a question of law based on underlying factual findings. Merck

Sharp & Dohme Corp. v. Hospira, Inc., 874 F.3d 724, 728 

(Fed. Cir. 2017). In an obviousness analysis, factual findings include, inter alia, the scope and content of the prior 

art, level of ordinary skill in the art, the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art, and motivation to combine. Randall Mfg. v. Rea, 733 F.3d 1355, 1362 

5 Finda Germain, Gelatin Printmaking-Monotype 

Prints, https://youtube.com/DyOJG-TEWf8, YouTube 

video and comments dated May 11, 2008. 

Case: 20-1056 Document: 31 Page: 5 Filed: 08/11/2020
6 IN RE: KROSS

(Fed. Cir. 2013) (citing KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 

U.S. 398, 406 (2007)). 

On appeal, Kross challenges the Board’s obviousness 

determination for a host of reasons. Kross’s main argument is that, contrary to the Board’s finding, there was no 

motivation to combine the prior art references. Appellant’s 

Br. 19–24. Kross further argues that the Board’s obviousness determination is erroneous because it employs an impermissible “obvious to try” reasoning. Id. at 24–29. Kross 

also appears to argue that the Board failed to give proper 

weight to his evidence of objective indicia of non-obviousness—specifically, that the purported invention solves a 

long felt but unmet need. Id. at 19–21; Appellant’s Reply 

Br. 9–11. We are not convinced.

As the Board explained, a person of ordinary skill in 

the art would have been motivated to address the known 

cracking and splitting problems with gelatin printing 

plates using the materials identified in Chen. J.A. 5–6 (citing J.A. 271).6 The Board cited the examiner’s findings 

that a person of skill in the art would have recognized the 

problems associated with Taylor’s gelatin printing plates 

and then turned to Chen in looking for an alternative polymer to use in its gel printing plates. J.A. 6 (citing 

J.A. 491–98); J.A. 556. Chen, with its focus on viscoelastic 

gels that are crack- and tear-resistant, provides that alternative. See J.A. 590. It discloses “a viscoelastic gel meeting 

the claimed limitations . . . which has high dimensional stability, crack and tear resistance and long service life and 

capable of repeated handling.” J.A. 271.7 Substantial 

6 Kross does not dispute that both Taylor and Germain identified the drawbacks of working with gelatin 

printing plates. Appellant’s Br. 28. 

7 Although this discussion refers to Kross’s now-cancelled claims, we agree with the Board that these findings 

Case: 20-1056 Document: 31 Page: 6 Filed: 08/11/2020
IN RE: KROSS 7

evidence thus supports the Board’s finding of a motivation 

to combine Chen’s viscoelastic materials with Taylor’s gel 

printing plates to address the known problems with gelatin 

printing plates.

Contrary to Kross’s arguments, the fact that Chen does 

not teach the use of viscoelastic compositions in any type of 

printing does not undermine the Board’s finding of a motivation to combine. See Appellant’s Br. 13–14; Appellant’s 

Reply Br. 1–2. We agree with the Board that Chen’s silence 

“as to a particular application is of little or no moment 

given the teachings of the properties and the resulting general uses of the viscoelastic gel-like materials, which would 

have suggested those materials as, more likely than not, a 

successful solution to the problems of gelatin cracking and 

splitting.” J.A. 271.

We likewise reject Kross’s argument that the Board impermissibly employed an “obvious to try” rationale. Kross’s 

arguments in this regard focus on the Board’s statement 

that the “reasonable expectation of successfully solving a 

known problem using known properties of a known material i[s] generally prima facie obvious.” J.A. 6–7. We do 

not read into this statement the error that Kross complains 

of. This is not a case, as Kross contends, where “the prior 

art gave no indication of critical parameters and no direction as to which of many possibilities is likely to be successful.” Appellant’s Br. 24–25 (quoting In re Copaxone Consol. 

Cases, 906 F.3d 1013, 1025 (Fed. Cir. 2018)). As Kross himself contends, Taylor and Germain identified the parameters that would have been of concern to a skilled artisan 

(cracking, splitting). Chen teaches that non-gelatin, gel 

polymers would be beneficial in fixing these critical parameters (high dimensional stability, crack and tear resistance). That is a far cry from impermissibly requiring

apply to the identical limitations in the claims at issue in 

this appeal. 

Case: 20-1056 Document: 31 Page: 7 Filed: 08/11/2020
8 IN RE: KROSS

that a skilled artisan, without any guidance from the prior 

art, “vary all parameters” until one succeeds. Kubin, 561 

F.3d at 1359.

Accordingly, we affirm the Board’s conclusion of obviousness.

CONCLUSION 

We have considered Kross’s remaining arguments and 

find them unpersuasive. For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the decision of the Board. 

AFFIRMED 

COSTS 

No costs.

Case: 20-1056 Document: 31 Page: 8 Filed: 08/11/2020