Geox wins patent case against Outdry
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has affirmed the USPTO’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) decision in a dispute over a method of waterproofing leather.
The decision, which was handed down on Friday, June 16, was in a dispute between Outdry Technologies and Geox.
Both companies sell items such as clothes and shoes which employ waterproofing technology.
The PTAB had decided that a US patent number 6,855,171 belonging to Outdry was obvious based on a combination of prior art. That decision was appealed by Outdry.
Patent ’171 claims methods of waterproofing leather, particularly for the manufacture of shoes, clothes, or leather accessories.
The Federal Circuit said: “The PTAB’s fact finding regarding motivation to combine is supported by substantial evidence.
“We see no error in the PTAB’s conclusion that the claims would have been obvious to a skilled artisan based on the facts presented.”
The Federal Circuit said that it had considered Outdry’s remaining arguments and found that they were without merit.
It added: “For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the decision of the PTAB.”
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