Holding that the phrase "[a]n optical waveguide" in the preamble of the claim language was meant to limit claim scope to "optical waveguides" rather than all optical fibers because the "specification [made it] clear that the inventors were working on the particular problem of an . . . optical communication system not on general improvements in conventional optical fibers"
Holding that, where "patent disclosure list[ed] numerous salts, fuels, and emulsifiers that could form thousands of" claimed combinations, some of which would be inoperable, "the claims [were] not necessarily invalid" for lack of enablement unless a POSA needed to "experiment unduly in order to practice the claimed invention"
Noting that the question is whether the scope of enablement conveyed by the disclosure to a person of ordinary skill in the art is commensurate with the scope of protection taught by the claims
35 U.S.C. § 112 Cited 7,423 times 1070 Legal Analyses
Requiring patent applications to include a "specification" that provides, among other information, a written description of the invention and of the manner and process of making and using it
35 U.S.C. § 103 Cited 6,174 times 493 Legal Analyses
Holding the party seeking invalidity must prove "the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains."