Merck Sharp & Dohme B.V. v. Warner Chilcott Company, LLC, No. 16-2583 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 19, 2017)

From the Opinion

The passage below is extracted verbatim from the opening of the document. It has not been editorially summarized — consult the full opinion for the court's complete reasoning.

Merck Sharp & Dohme B.V. appeals from the district court’s determination that claims 4 and 11 of U.S. Patent No. 5,989,581 are invalid as obvious. Because a person of ordinary skill would not have found it obvious to modify the prior art of record to arrive at the cla imed invention, we reverse. I The ’581 patent relates to a vaginal ring used for co n- traception, and its commercial embodiment is sold under the brand name NuvaRing®.