Opinion ID: 767687
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Other Applicable Standards of Review

Text: 44 Whether the Board possessed jurisdiction to continue the interference in order to decide the patentability of Gartside's claims is a question of law that we review de novo. See James M. Ellett Constr. Co. v. United States, 93 F.3d 1537, 1541 (Fed. Cir. 1996) (Jurisdiction is a question of law [that] . . . we review de novo.). We review for an abuse of discretion the Board's decision to resolve issues of patentability that were not placed in issue by the parties during the interference. See 5 U.S.C. § 135(a) (providing that the Board may determine questions of patentability during the course of an interference) (emphasis added); 37 C.F.R. § 1.641(a) (1999); 8 Perkins, 886 F.2d at 328, 12 USPQ2d at 1311 (The word 'may' in § 135(a) accommodates the situation when patentability is not placed at issue during the priority contest, but it would contradict the remedial purpose of the legislation if the Board could refuse to decide questions of patentability for which there had been adduced an appropriate record.). An abuse of discretion occurs when a decision is based on an erroneous interpretation of law or clearly erroneous factfinding, or if that decision represents an unreasonable judgment in weighing relevant factors. A.C. Aukerman Co. v. R.L. Chaides Constr. Co., 960 F.2d 1020, 1039, 22 USPQ2d 1321, 1333 (Fed. Cir. 1992) (en banc). In view of our holding that we review Board factfinding for substantial evidence, we will modify the second criterion accordingly. 45 Whether a claimed invention is unpatentable as obvious under § 103 is a question of law based on underlying findings of fact. See In re Dembiczak, 175 F.3d 994, 998, 50 USPQ2d 1614, 1616 (Fed. Cir. 1999) (citing Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 17-18, 148 USPQ 459, 467 (1966)). The presence or absence of a motivation to combine references in an obviousness determination is a pure question of fact. See id. at 1000, 50 USPQ2d at 1617. The Board's legal conclusion of obviousness is reviewed de novo. See In re Rouffet, 149 F.3d 1350, 1355, 47 USPQ2d 1453, 1455 (Fed. Cir. 1998); see also 5 U.S.C. § 706 (1994) (To the extent necessary to decision and when presented, the reviewing court shall decide all relevant questions of law. . . .). Although we have previously reviewed the Board's factual determinations in an obviousness analysis for clear error, see Dembiczak, 175 F.3d at 998, 50 USPQ2d at 1616; Kemps, 97 F.3d at 1429-30, 40 USPQ2d at 1311-12, we now review them for substantial evidence.