HAMILTON BEACH BRANDS, INC. V. F’REAL FOODS, LLC
- Nov 16 2018 |
- Category: CAFC Updates
Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc. petitioned the PTAB for inter partes review of claim 21 of f’real! Foods, LLC’s U.S. Patent No. 7,520,662 relating to methods for rinsing a splash shield on a mixing machine as obvious, and now challenges the Board’s final written decision upholding the patentability of claim 21. Hamilton Beach argues that the Board violated the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”) by changing claim construction theories midstream without providing the parties an opportunity to respond, and additionally erred in construing certain “nozzle” terms. After refusing to consider the time bar § 315(b) issue raised by f’real because f’real did not file a cross-appeal, the CAFC finds that the Board did not err in construing the relevant claim terms and because substantial evidence supports the Board’s decision (a motivation to combine the prior art references was not established by Hamilton Beach), the CAFC affirms.