Appeal No. 2003-1341
Application No. 09/447,071
The Invention
The invention relates to a doubles game of table tennis
having a mode of play said to be different from conventional
table tennis. In play, either player on either end may return a
volley. (Appeal Brief, page 2, lines 12-22). A table wider than
a standard table is used. (Id., page 3, lines 5-7). Further
details of the claimed subject matter are recited in claim 34,
reproduced above.
The Rejection of Claim 34 Under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a)
The examiner has found that table tennis has been in
existence since about 1880 and various sizes of tables have been
in use. (Examiner’s Answer, page 3, lines 8-10). The examiner
has also found that the manner of play described in the claim is
as the rules describe (Id., page 3, lines 12-15). The examiner
then concludes that it would have been obvious to provide balls
and paddles and use a table to play table tennis and it would
have been obvious to vary the rules to play the game (Examiner’s
Answer, page 3, lines 17-21).
The appellants, on the other hand, urge that the rules state
that each player on a team can strike only every other ball,
whereas the claimed method allows for each player to make each
return. The appellants urge that the principal reference
3
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007