Opinion ID: 784607
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Interim PTO Proceedings

Text: 14 On December 11, 2002, during the interim period between the district court's resolution of the case and the date on which Rolabo filed its brief in this court, the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (Board) declared an interference-in-fact between claim 2 of the `100 patent and claim 17 of the `827 patent. Stampa v. Jackson, No. 105,069, 2002 WL 31926813, 65 USPQ2d 1942, 2002 Pat.App. LEXIS 191 (Bd. Pat.App. & Int. Dec. 11, 2002). The Board's proceedings occurred under the parallel interference procedures of 35 U.S.C. § 135(a), which govern interferences between an application for a patent and another pending application or unexpired patent. These requirements were met in this instance because, on September 3, 2002, Stampa, one of the listed inventors on the `100 patent, had filed Reissue Application No. 10/234,659 (the `659 Reissue) for the `100 patent. A reissue application qualifies as an application under § 135(a). 15 The Board began by concluding that a § 291 proceeding did not preclude the Director of the PTO from declaring an interference under § 135(a) due to the difference in statutory requirements. Stampa, 2002 WL 31926813, ___ - ___, 65 USPQ2d at ___, 2002 Pat.App. LEXIS 191 at -; see also Masco Corp. v. United States, 303 F.3d 1316, 1329 (Fed. Cir.2002) (Issue preclusion is appropriate only when ... (1) the issue is identical to one decided in the first action; (2) the issue was actually litigated in the first action; (3) resolution of the issue was essential to a final judgment in the first action; and (4) plaintiff had a full and fair opportunity to litigate the issue in the first action.). The Board, like the district court, applied the two-way test described by 37 C.F.R. § 1.601(n) to identify the existence of an interference-in-fact between the reissue application and the `827 patent. Unlike the district court, however, the Board found that the term comprising in the transition of claim 1 of the `827 patent permitted the inclusion of additional elements, including tertiary amines. Because tertiary amines were not excluded from the `827 patent, claim 17 was anticipated by claim 2 of the `100 patent. Applying the second leg of the two-way test — treating the `827 patent as prior art 2 — the Board found that the use of tertiary amines to carry out McMurry reactions was well known in the art. Therefore, the Board concluded, the second leg of the two-way test was also satisfied, resulting in an interference-in-fact.