Graham v. John Deere Co. of Kansas City
The Supreme Court establishes the three-part nonobviousness inquiry: (1) determine the scope and content of the prior art, (2) determine the differences between the prior art and the claimed invention, and (3) determine the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. A court or the PTO may also use secondary considerations such as commercial success, long-felt but unmet needs, and failure by others as objective indications of nonobviousness.