A Little Common Sense is a Dangerous Thing: The Inherent Inconsistency Between KSR and Current Official Notice Policy

[Excerpt] “The question of whether an invention is an obvious variation of existing technology is one that has troubled courts for decades. From its roots in nineteenth century case law to the recent Supreme Court decision KSR v. Teleflex, Inc., the doctrine of obviousness has waxed and waned—moving through a variety of judicially-created tests to a current state that is still far from perspicuous. This paper will examine obviousness through a particular lens: the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO,” “PTO”) tool known as “official notice”—the practice of declaring a patent application’s claims unpatentable as obvious based on undocumented reasoning, such as the common sense or common knowledge of a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the application pertains. After KSR, using unsubstantiated common sense-based rationales for rejecting patent claims is considered a completely valid practice. However, a line of obviousness cases, including one from the United States Supreme Court, stands for the polar opposite position—that declaring a patent invalid as obvious without underlying prior art support does not comport with the standards of the Administrative Procedure Act. Unfortunately, this contradiction leaves patent practitioners and the federal district courts to reconcile diametrically opposed holdings, especially when a case involves official notice. Part II of this paper will give a brief history of general obviousness jurisprudence up to the Supreme Court’s KSR decision in 2007. Next, Part III will introduce the reader to the obviousness inquiry through the eyes of a USPTO examiner by presenting a hypothetical patent application scenario and defining various terms of art. Part IV will introduce the concept of formal official notice at the USPTO, including an examination of the official agency guidelines for the practice, and will present a judicial history of official notice. Part V will return to KSR, presenting more recent Federal Circuit obviousness cases and introducing the problems that the current jurisprudence brings about. Finally, Part VI will conclude with potential solutions to the issue, arguing that the judiciary should hold the USPTO to task in providing evidence that an invention is in fact obvious.

Effect of oxygen concentration on the structural and magnetic properties of LaRh1/2Mn1/2O3 thin films

Epitaxial LaRh1/2Mn1/2O3 thin films have been grown on (001)-oriented LaAlO3 and SrTiO3 substrates using pulsed laser deposition. The optimized thin film samples are semiconducting and ferromagnetic with a Curie temperature close to 100 K, a coercive field of 1200 Oe, and a saturation magnetization of 1.7muB per formula unit. The surface texture, structural, electrical, and magnetic properties of the LaRh1/2Mn1/2O3 films was examined as a function of the oxygen concentration during deposition. While an elevated oxygen concentration yields thin films with optimal magnetic properties, slightly lower oxygen concentrations result in films with improved texture and crystallinity

Magnetic and vibrational properties of high-entropy alloys

The magnetic properties of high-entropy alloys based on equimolar FeCoCrNi were investigated using vibrating sample magnetometry to determine their usefulness in high-temperature magnetic applications. Nuclear resonant inelastic x-ray scattering measurements were performed to evaluate the vibrational entropy of the ^(57)Fe atoms and to infer chemical order. The configurational and vibrational entropy of alloying are discussed as they apply to these high-entropy alloys

Positive Vibrational Entropy of Chemical Ordering in FeV

Inelastic neutron scattering and nuclear resonant inelastic x-ray scattering were used to measure phonon spectra of FeV as a B2 ordered compound and as a bcc solid solution. The two data sets were combined to give an accurate phonon density of states, and the phonon partial densities of states for V and Fe atoms. Contrary to the behavior of ordering alloys studied to date, the phonons in the B2 ordered phase are softer than in the solid solution. Ordering increases the vibrational entropy by +0.22±0.03k_B/atom, which stabilizes the ordered phase to higher temperatures. First-principles calculations show that the number of electronic states at the Fermi level increases upon ordering, enhancing the screening between ions, and reducing the interatomic force constants. The effect of screening is larger at the V atomic sites than at the Fe atomic sites

Effects of chemical composition and B2 order on phonons in bcc Fe–Co alloys

The phonon density of states (DOS) gives insight into interatomic forces and provides the vibrational entropy, making it a key thermodynamic function for understanding alloy phase transformations. Nuclear resonant inelastic x-ray scattering and inelastic neutron scattering were used to measure the chemical dependence of the DOS of bcc Fe–Co alloys. For the equiatomic alloy, the A2→B2 (chemically disordered→chemically ordered) phase transformation caused measurable changes in the phonon spectrum. The measured change in vibrational entropy upon ordering was −0.02±0.02 k_B/atom, suggesting that vibrational entropy results in a reduction in the order–disorder transition temperature by 60±60 K. The Connolly–Williams cluster inversion method was used to obtain interaction DOS (IDOS) curves that show how point and pair variables altered the phonon DOS of disordered bcc Fe–Co alloys. These IDOS curves accurately captured the change in the phonon DOS and vibrational entropy of the B2 ordering transition

The Segmented Aperture Interferometric Nulling Testbed (SAINT) III: Control Systems Analysis and Preliminary Results

This work presents a detailed current performance analysis for the telescope, pointing, and coronagraph com- ponent subsystems of the Segmented Aperture Interferometric Nulling Testbed (SAINT). The project pairs an active segmented mirror with the Visible Nulling Coronagraph (VNC) towards demonstrating capabilities for the future space observatories needed to directly detect and characterize Earth-sized worlds around nearby stars. We describe approaches to optimize subsystem wavefront sensing and control parameters, summarizing relevant scal- ing relations between these parameters, residual errors, and observed contrast measurements. Preliminary results from diagnostic testing under various control states are presented along with intermediate contrast measurements towards demonstrating the full system

Spectroscopy of Nine Cataclysmic Variable Stars

We present optical spectroscopy of nine cataclysmic binary stars, mostly dwarf novae, obtained primarily to determine orbital periods Porb. The stars and their periods are LX And, 0.1509743(5) d; CZ Aql, 0.2005(6) d; LU Cam, 0.1499686(4) d; GZ Cnc, 0.0881(4) d; V632 Cyg, 0.06377(8) d; V1006 Cyg, 0.09903(9) d; BF Eri, 0.2708804(4) d; BI Ori, 0.1915(5) d; and FO Per, for which Porb is either 0.1467(4) or 0.1719(5) d. Several of the stars proved to be especially interesting. In BF Eri, we detect the absorption spectrum of a secondary star of spectral type K3 +- 1 subclass, which leads to a distance estimate of approximately 1 kpc. However, BF Eri has a large proper motion (100 mas/yr), and we have a preliminary parallax measurement that confirms the large proper motion and yields only an upper limit for the parallax. BF Eri's space velocity is evidently large, and it appears to belong to the halo population. In CZ Aql, the emission lines have strong wings that move with large velocity amplitude, suggesting a magnetically-channeled accretion flow. The orbital period of V1006 Cyg places it squarely within the 2- to 3-hour "gap" in the distribution of cataclysmic binary orbital periods.Comment: 31 pages, 5 postscript and one PNG figure. Accepted for PAS

The role of TcdB and TccC subunits in secretion of the photorhabdus Tcd toxin complex

The Toxin Complex (TC) is a large multi-subunit toxin encoded by a range of bacterial pathogens. The best-characterized examples are from the insect pathogens Photorhabdus, Xenorhabdus and Yersinia. They consist of three large protein subunits, designated A, B and C that assemble in a 5:1:1 stoichiometry. Oral toxicity to a range of insects means that some have the potential to be developed as pest control technology. The three subunit proteins do not encode any recognisable export sequences and as such little progress has been made in understanding their secretion. We have developed heterologous TC production and secretion models in E. coli and used them to ascribe functions to different domains of the crucial B+C sub-complex. We have determined that the B and C subunits use a secretion mechanism that is either encoded by the proteins themselves or employ an as yet undefined system common to laboratory strains of E. coli. We demonstrate that both the N-terminal domains of the B and C subunits are required for secretion of the whole complex. We propose a model whereby the N-terminus of the C-subunit toxin exports the B+C sub-complex across the inner membrane while that of the B-subunit allows passage across the outer membrane. We also demonstrate that even in the absence of the B-subunit, that the C-subunit can also facilitate secretion of the larger A-subunit. The recognition of this novel export system is likely to be of importance to future protein secretion studies. Finally, the identification of homologues of B and C subunits in diverse bacterial pathogens, including Burkholderia and Pseudomonas, suggests that these toxins are likely to be important in a range of different hosts, including man

Enlargement of ribbons in zebrafish hair cells increases calcium currents, but disrupts afferent spontaneous activity and timing of stimulus onset.

In sensory hair cells of auditory and vestibular organs, the ribbon synapse is required for the precise encoding of a wide range of complex stimuli. Hair cells have a unique presynaptic structure-the synaptic ribbon-that organizes both synaptic vesicles and calcium channels at the active zone. Previous work has shown that hair-cell ribbon size is correlated with differences in postsynaptic activity. However, additional variability in postsynapse size presents a challenge to determining the specific role of ribbon size in sensory encoding. To selectively assess the impact of ribbon size on synapse function, we examined hair cells in transgenic zebrafish that have enlarged ribbons, without postsynaptic alterations. Morphologically, we found that enlarged ribbons had more associated vesicles and reduced presynaptic calcium-channel clustering. Functionally, hair cells with enlarged ribbons had larger global and ribbon-localized calcium currents. Afferent neuron recordings revealed that hair cells with enlarged ribbons resulted in reduced spontaneous spike rates. Additionally, despite larger presynaptic calcium signals, we observed fewer evoked spikes with longer latencies from stimulus onset. Taken together, our work indicates that hair-cell ribbon size influences the spontaneous spiking and the precise encoding of stimulus onset in afferent neurons.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTNumerous studies support that hair-cell ribbon size corresponds with functional sensitivity differences in afferent neurons and, in the case of inner hair cells of the cochlea, vulnerability to damage from noise trauma. Yet it is unclear whether ribbon size directly influences sensory encoding. Our study reveals that ribbon enlargement results in increased ribbon-localized calcium signals, yet reduces afferent spontaneous activity and disrupts the timing of stimulus onset-a distinct aspect of auditory and vestibular encoding. These observations suggest that varying ribbon size alone can influence sensory encoding, and give further insight into how hair cells transduce signals that cover a wide dynamic range of stimuli