In this article for IP Litigator, partner Dion Bregman and associate Andy Dietrick discuss a finding by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in an inter partes review—DraftKings Inc. v. Interactive Games LLC—that DraftKings’ proposed combination of prior art would have been obvious when Interactive Games’ mobile gambling patent was filed and was therefore unpatentable.
Dion and Andy address how the outcome of this case demonstrates the ineffectuality of arguing that there is no motivation to modify the primary reference because it works as is, as well as the importance of understanding whether an invention feature is truly necessary and whether removal of such would render the invention inoperable for its intended purpose.