Appeal No. 1996-0910
Application 08/118,368
that prior to the critical date the inventor had prepared
drawings or other descriptions of the invention that were
sufficiently specific to enable a person skilled in the art to
practice the invention.
See Pfaff v. Wells Electronics Inc., 119 S.Ct. 304, 311-12, 48
USPQ2d 1641, 1646-47 (1998). If, however, the primary purpose
underlying an offer for sale is experimental rather than
commercial, then the product is not on sale within the meaning
of the statute. See In re Hamilton, 882 F.2d 1576, 1579, 11
USPQ2d 1890, 1893 (Fed. Cir. 1989).
The copy of Boeing Purchase Order No. B 258096 of record
conveys few details regarding the transaction between Boeing
and Ingersoll Milling Machine Co. (Ingersoll) which forms the
basis for the examiner’s rejection. It is not disputed,
however, that the transaction involved the “purchase” by
Boeing from Ingersoll of two single station HAL cells made
pursuant to Boeing specification # L-2433, and that the
“purchase” occurred more than one year prior to the critical
4
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007