Opinion ID: 4199981
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Cobos-Pressman

Text: Vicor contends that the Board erred in reversing the examiner’s rejections based on the Cobos-Pressman combination, arguing that no substantial evidence supports the Board’s finding that Cobos fails to teach a nonregulated isolation component. In particular, Vicor argues that Dr. Schlecht’s testimony regarding PWM control circuitry “could not have been credited by a reasonable factfinder, because Dr. Schlecht has an interest in the outcome.” Open. Br. 47. SynQor counters that the Board was aware of Dr. Schlecht’s interest in the litigation and that the Board was entitled to weigh his credibility and rely on his testimony, in combination with other evidence such as the specific voltage output of Cobos’s isolation stage, as substantial evidence underpinning the Board’s decision. We agree with SynQor. “We defer to the Board’s findings concerning the credibility of expert witnesses.” Yorkey v. Diab, 601 F.3d 1279, 1284 (Fed. Cir. 2010). The Board expressly acknowledged Dr. Schlecht’s interest in the outcome of the litigation and nevertheless found his testimony to be “reasonable and largely unrefuted by persuasive evidence.” J.A. 26. The Board also took into consideration the evidence regarding Cobos’s 3.3-volt output and found 8 VICOR CORP. v. SYNQOR, INC. that Cobos’s isolation stage was “generally regulated,” as argued by SynQor. These fact findings by the Board constitute substantial evidence which supports the Board’s ultimate determination of nonobviousness. Because Cobos is the only reference relied on to supply a non-regulated isolation component in this proposed combination, and because it does not disclose such a component, the Board did not err in reversing the Cobos- Pressman rejections.