Opinion ID: 210958
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Asserting an argument of patentability.

Text: 37 A prima facie case of unpatentability is established when the information compels a conclusion that a claim is unpatentable under the preponderance of evidence, burden-of-proof standard, giving each term in the claim its broadest reasonable construction consistent with the specification, and before any consideration is given to evidence which may be submitted in an attempt to establish a contrary conclusion of patentability. 38 37 C.F.R. § 1.56(b) (2006). Under the prior reasonable examiner standard, an omission or misstatement was material if a reasonable examiner would have considered such prior art important in deciding whether to allow the parent application. Digital Control, 437 F.3d at 1314 (citations omitted). 39 As seen, inequitable conduct also requires an intent to deceive. To satisfy the intent to deceive element of inequitable conduct, the involved conduct, viewed in light of all the evidence, including evidence indicative of good faith, must indicate sufficient culpability to require a finding of intent to deceive. Kingsdown Med. Consultants, Ltd. v. Hollister, Inc., 863 F.2d 867, 876 (Fed.Cir.1988) (en banc in relevant part). Intent need not, and rarely can, be proven by direct evidence. Merck & Co. v. Danbury Pharmacal, Inc., 873 F.2d 1418, 1422 (Fed.Cir.1989). Rather, intent to deceive is generally inferred from the facts and circumstances surrounding the applicant's overall conduct. Id. 40 If the court finds materiality and intent, it must balance the equities to determine whether the patentee has committed inequitable conduct that warrants holding the patent unenforceable. Monsanto Co. v. Bayer Bioscience N.V., 363 F.3d 1235, 1239 (Fed.Cir.2004). The more material the omission or misrepresentation, the less intent that must be shown to elicit a finding of inequitable conduct. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Rhone-Poulenc Rorer, Inc., 326 F.3d 1226, 1234 (Fed. Cir.2003). If inequitable conduct occurred with respect to one or more claims of an application, the entire patent is unenforceable. Kingsdown Med. Consultants, 863 F.2d at 877. 41 We review a district court's ultimate decision on a claim of inequitable conduct for an abuse of discretion and its threshold findings on materiality and intent for clear error. Alza, 391 F.3d at 1369-70. An abuse of discretion occurs when (1) the court's decision is clearly unreasonable, arbitrary, or fanciful, (2) the court's decision is based on an erroneous construction of the law, (3) the court's factual findings are clearly erroneous, or (4) the record contains no evidence upon which the court rationally could have based its decision. See, e.g., Cybor Corp. v. FAS Techs., Inc., 138 F.3d 1448, 1460 (Fed.Cir.1998) (en banc). Under the clear error standard, the court's findings will not be overturned in the absence of a definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made. Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc. v. Promega Corp., 323 F.3d 1354, 1359 (Fed. Cir.2003) (quoting Molins PLC v. Textron, Inc., 48 F.3d 1172, 1180 (Fed.Cir.1995)).