Ex Parte Maresca et al - Page 6



                Appeal 2007-0223                                                                                  
                Application 09/752,090                                                                            
                claimed, which are qualified as part of the supplier qualification.  Thus,                        
                qualifying the suppliers involves "qualifying technologies."                                      
                       We conclude that Appellants have not shown that the Examiner erred                         
                in finding that Aycock discloses "qualifying suppliers, parts, and                                
                technologies."                                                                                    

                                                       (2)                                                        
                       The Examiner also finds that Aycock discloses the claim limitation of                      
                "said collaborative source including a supplier, a manufacturing                                  
                representative, and . . . an electronic catalog" at column 1, lines 21-30, and                    
                column 2, line 56, to column 3, line 22) (Final Rejection 2).                                     
                       Appellants argue (Br. 11-12):                                                              
                       Aycock, however, is devoid of teaching a collaborative source.  The                        
                       source of supplier information disclosed in Aycock is, at best, a                          
                       source; it is not a collaborative source.  Aycock states "vendor                           
                       requirements are selected for vendor qualification . . . provided to a                     
                       supplier [and] . . . after receiving supplier responses to the                             
                       requirements, the supplier responses are assigned a scaled score"                          
                       (column 2, line 64 - column 3, line 4).  Collaboration suggests more                       
                       than sending requests and receiving responses.                                             
                       Appellants further argue that the "recognition by the examiner that                        
                Aycock does not teach a web based user interface and shared data repository                       
                lends strength to the Appellants['] contention that Aycock does not disclose                      
                collaborative elements as referenced above" (Br. 12) because "[t]he web                           
                based user interface and shared data repository . . . are integral components                     
                and functions corresponding to these collaborative elements" (Br. 12).                            
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