Secondary Considerations: Commercial success and the existence of other patents
Secondary considerations may be presented as evidence to rebut a prima facie of obviousness over the prior art as proscribed by the Supreme Court's decision in Graham v. John Deere. These secondary considerations may include commercial success, long-felt but unmet need, and copying by competitors. An interesting discussion of secondary considerations, and specifically commercial success, is the Federal Circuit's recent decision of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. v. Hospira, Inc.,