Appeal No. 2004-0356
Application 09/811,993
teachings of the applied references would have reasonably
suggested to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of
appellant’s invention adding light sources and a battery power
source to the frame of the advertising display apparatus of
Boggess so as to achieve the advantage of improving the ability
of that advertising display to attract customer attention to a
particular product on a store shelf. In reaching this
conclusion, we have presumed skill on the part of the artisan,
rather than the converse. See In re Sovish, 769 F.2d 738, 742,
226 USPQ 771, 774 (Fed. Cir 1985).
In further response to appellant’s arguments in the brief
concerning combinability of the applied references, we also
observe that where the issue is one of obviousness under
35 U.S.C. § 103, the proper inquiry should not be limited to the
specific structure shown by a reference, but should be into the
concepts fairly contained therein, with the overriding question
to be determined being whether those concepts would have
suggested to one skilled in the art the modification called for
by the claims. See In re Bascom, 230 F.2d 612, 614, 109 USPQ 98,
100 (CCPA 1956). Furthermore, under 35 U.S.C. § 103, a reference
must be considered not only for what it expressly teaches, but
10
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007