In Re Geoffrey Margolis, Alain Mercier, and Klaus Schlecht

PAULINE NEWMAN, Circuit Judge.

Patent applicants Geoffrey Margolis, Alain Mercier, and Klaus Schlecht (hereinafter Margolis), assignors to Nestec, S.A., appeal the decision of the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (the Board), that affirmed the rejection of claims 1 through 8 of patent application Serial No. 297,324 on the ground that the claimed invention would have been obvious under 35 U.S.C. § 103. We vacate the decision and remand to the PTO.

Opinion

The claimed invention relates to the manufacture of soluble coffee, and is described as providing…