Opinion ID: 218033
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Baumhauer Alone or In View of Kress

Text: Regarding Baumhauer, MemsTech argues that, even if the preamble of claim 1 is limiting, Baumhauer’s Figure 6 teaches that surface mounting is an option, and Kress shows that surface mounting would have been an obvious modification to one of ordinary skill. MemsTech further contends that dependent claims 2, 9, 15, 17, 20, 28, and 29 were also obvious over Baumhauer (with or without Kress), because these claims add no nonobvious limitations to claim 1. The Commission and Knowles argue in response that the Commission correctly found that Baumhauer does not teach a mountable package, as the preamble of claim 1 27 MEMS TECH v. ITC requires. Moreover, they contend, Kress teaches packaging only in the context of automotive silicon pressure sensors, not as applied to surface mountable packages for microphones. They argue that MemsTech failed to provide clear and convincing evidence of a reason why one of ordinary skill would combine Baumhauer with Kress to create the invention claimed in the ’089 patent. They further contend that because claim 1 was nonobvious, claims 2, 9, 15, 17, 20, and 28, which depend from claim 1, were also nonobvious. We agree with the Commission and Knowles. Baum- hauer does not teach a “surface mountable package.” As the Commission found, Baumhauer Figure 6 discloses a microphone attached directly to a circuit board, not a unit with components that come together to form a mountable package. J.A. 382-83. The testimony of Knowles’ expert provides substantial supporting evidence. J.A. 1129 (“Baumhauer Figure 6 is an example of attaching the microphone device to an end-user board and then attaching a protective cover onto that portion of the PC board where the microphone resides. Therefore, Baumhauer discloses a device, not a package.”). Kress does not cure the deficiencies of Baumhauer. Titled “Integrated Silicon Pressure Sensor for Automotive Application with Electronic Trimming,” Kress mentions packaging only briefly, and does so in the context of pressure sensors for automobiles—not surface mountable packages for microphones. J.A. 1386-87. The Commission correctly found that Kress lacked detail sufficient to permit one of ordinary skill to adapt it to an acoustic MEMS package. J.A. 167-68. The expert testimony indicated that “packaging design is device and application specific.” J.A. 1126. The Commission did not err in determining that MemsTech failed to present clear and convincing evidence that Baumhauer, alone or in view of MEMS TECH v. ITC 28 Kress, rendered claim 1 obvious. Because independent claim 1 was not obvious over Baumhauer alone or in view of Kress, the Commission correctly determined that dependent claims 2, 9, 15, 17, 20, 28, and 29 were also not obvious. See Hartness, 819 F.2d at 1108.