Appeal No. 2000-1315
Application 09/152,563
this regard is based solely on the indefiniteness of the
claimed subject matter, and does not reflect on the adequacy
of the prior art evidence applied in support of the
rejections.
The following new rejection is entered pursuant to 37 CFR
§ 1.196(b).
Claims 12 through 14 and 18 through 20 are rejected under
35 U.S.C. § 112, second paragraph, as failing to particularly
point out and distinctly claim the subject matter the
appellant regards as the invention.
The second paragraph of 35 U.S.C. § 112 requires claims
to set out and circumscribe a particular area with a
reasonable degree of precision and particularity. In re
Johnson, 558 F.2d 1008, 1015, 194 USPQ 187, 193 (CCPA 1977).
The purpose of this requirement is to provide those who would
endeavor, in future enterprise, to approach the area
circumscribed by the claims of a patent with the adequate
notice demanded by due process of law, so that they may more
readily and accurately determine the boundaries of protection
involved and evaluate the possibility of infringement and
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