Appeal No. 95-3885
Application 08/172,051
Upon reviewing Muller, Shockley and Gosch, we fail
to find a teaching or a suggestion of placing the resistive
layer within the semiconductor device which is below the pn
junction and between the substrate and the pn junction. As
pointed out above, Shockley's teaching would lead those
skilled in the art to place the resistive layer on the surface
of the device so as to avoid further heating.
The Federal Circuit states that "[t]he mere fact
that the prior art may be modified in the manner suggested by
the Examiner does not make the modification obvious unless the
prior art suggested the desirability of the modification." In
re Fritch, 972 F.2d 1260, 1266 n.14, 23 USPQ2d 1780, 1783-84
n.14 (Fed. Cir. 1992), citing In re Gordon, 733 F.2d 900, 902,
221 USPQ 1125, 1127 (Fed. Cir. 1984). "Obviousness may not be
established using hindsight or in view of the teachings or
suggestions of the inventor." Para-Ordnance, 73 F.3d at 1087,
37 USPQ2d at 1239, citing W. L. Gore & Assocs., 721 F.2d at
1551, 1553, 220 USPQ at 311, 312-13.
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