The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a PTAB decision rejecting patent application No. 12/925,221 after finding it anticipated by a prior art reference. The applicants challenged the rejection by arguing an effective date issue, but the court clarified that 37 C.F.R. § 1.131 is inapplicable when a statutory bar is present. The application related to analyzing volatile materials for diagnostic purposes was found lacking in various aspects including written description and patent eligibility, ultimately leading to the rejection's affirmation on appeal.
The court concluded that 37 C.F.R. § 1.131 does not pertain to applications facing statutory bars, emphasizing that a published reference can disqualify claims.
The CAFC focused solely on the anticipation of a particular claim that was central to the appeal, finding prior art Cranley relevant and valid.
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