Appeal No. 2001-2649
Application No. 09/358,926
Rejection at Issue
Claims 1, 3 and 4 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as
being unpatentable over Lienard and Wening.
Throughout the opinion, we will make reference to the
briefs1 and the answer for the respective details thereof.
OPINION
With full consideration being given the subject matter on
appeal, the Examiner's rejection and the arguments of Appellant
and Examiner, for the reasons stated infra, we reverse the
Examiner's rejection of claims 1 and 3 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 and
we affirm the Examiner's rejection of claim 4 under 35 U.S.C.
§ 103.
A. Rejection of Claims 1 and 3 under 35 U.S.C. § 103
In rejecting claims under 35 U.S.C. § 103, the Examiner
bears the initial burden of establishing a prima facie case of
obviousness. In re Oetiker, 977 F.2d 1443, 1445, 24 USPQ2d 1443,
1444 (Fed. Cir. 1992). See also In re Piasecki, 745 F.2d 1468,
1472, 223 USPQ 785, 788 (Fed. Cir. 1984). The Examiner can
1 Appellant filed an appeal brief on January 12, 2001.
Appellant filed a reply brief on May 22, 2001. The Examiner
mailed an Office communication on June 22, 2001, stating that the
reply brief has been entered and considered.
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