Appeal No. 1998-2029 Page 5
Application No. 08/258,643
We will not sustain the rejection of claims 7-9 under 35
U.S.C. § 103.
In rejecting claims under 35 U.S.C. § 103, the examiner
bears the initial burden of presenting a prima facie case of
obviousness. See In re Rijckaert, 9 F.3d 1531, 1532, 28
USPQ2d 1955, 1956 (Fed. Cir. 1993). A prima facie case of
obviousness is established by presenting evidence that would
have led one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the
relevant teachings of the references to arrive at the claimed
invention. See In re Fine, 837 F.2d 1071, 1074, 5 USPQ2d
1596, 1598 (Fed. Cir. 1988) and In re Lintner, 458 F.2d 1013,
1016, 173 USPQ 560, 562 (CCPA 1972).
Claims 7-9 recite a disposable surgical drape comprising,
inter alia, a sheet having a fenestration and a pouch having
(1) a thermoplastic layer having an opening defined by an
inner perimetric edge and an outer perimetric edge secured to
the sheet in a liquid tight seal that completely surrounds the
fenestration, and (2) closure means for sealing the inner
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