Appeal No. 2001-2620
Application No. 09/110,613
Powder Co. v. Ireco Inc., 190 F.3d 1342, 1347, 51 USPQ2d 1943,
1947 (Fed. Cir. 1999).
We observe that Hirata relates to an image storage and
management system which, as depicted in Figure 6, includes a zone
integrating section, a color information matching deriving
section and a shape matching section (col. 9, lines 49-55).
Images 71A and 71B, which are generated from the image index
storage and the inquiry image input, are integrated repeatedly
until each similar zone in these images corresponds to each other
(Figure 7; col. 9, lines 56-65). However, Hirata starts with
measuring the similarity of the shapes of the integrated zones
(col 10, lines 6-8) and then measures the similarity of colors of
the integrated zones as indicated by a distance of their RGB
values (col. 10, lines 19-26). Therefore, the image matching in
Hirata is performed by a sum of scores of the similarity of the
shape and color in each zone (col. 10, lines 33-41).
We disagree with the Examiner that the same part of the
reference (col. 10, lines 19-55 and col. 13, lines 14-32)
corresponds to the recited steps of “determining a color distance
between similar colors in each corresponding partition” and
“comparing the proportions of the similar colors in each of the
partitions.” What a reference teaches is a question of fact. In
re Baird, 16 F.3d 380, 382, 29 USPQ2d 1550, 1552 (Fed. Cir. 1994)
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