Pharmaceutical patents after KSR: What is not obvious?

Abstract

The Supreme Court recently revisited the question of patent validity based upon obviousness in KSR Int'l v Teleflex, Inc. The court rejected the Federal Circuit's rigid application of the ‘Teaching, Suggestion, Motivation’ test in determining the obviousness of patent claims, and reasserted its precedent regarding obviousness, beginning with the seminal 1852 HotchKiss decision. The decision arguably makes it easier to invalidate patents for obviousness. This paper analyzes the effect of KSR on the state of the law concerning the obviousness of pharmaceutical and biotechnology patents in the Federal Circuit and District Courts.