Ex parte ATHERTON - Page 9




          Appeal No. 97-2860                                                          
          Application 08/472,836                                                      

          a new ground of rejection to permit the appellant an                        
          opportunity to address any new point raised in our reading of               
          the prior art.                                                              
               In addition to affirming the examiner’s rejection of one               
          or more claims, this decision contains a new ground of                      
          rejection pursuant to 37 CFR § 1.196(b)(amended effective Dec.              
          1, 1997, by final rule notice, 62 Fed. Reg. 53,131, 53,197                  
          (Oct. 10, 1997), 1203 Off. Gaz. Pat. & Trademark Office 63,                 
          122 (Oct. 21, 1997)).  37 CFR § 1.196(b) provides, "A new                   
          ground of rejection shall not be considered final for purposes              
          of judicial review."                                                        
               Regarding any affirmed rejection, 37 CFR § 1.197(b)                    
          provides:                                                                   
               (b) Appellant may file a single request for                            
               rehearing within two months from the date of the                       
               original decision . . . .                                              
               37 CFR § 1.196(b) also provides that the appellant,                    
          WITHIN TWO MONTHS FROM THE DATE OF THE DECISION, must exercise              
          one of the following two options with respect to the new                    
          ground of rejection to avoid termination of proceedings (37                 
          CFR § 1.197(c)) as to the rejected claims:                                  
                    (1) Submit an appropriate amendment of the                        
               claims so rejected or a showing of facts relating to                   
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