Ex Parte Maresca et al - Page 11



                Appeal 2007-0223                                                                                  
                Application 09/752,090                                                                            
                              Additionally, Aycock is devoid of teaching or suggesting that                       
                       said technology survey is associated with an engineering organization                      
                       related to a technology being surveyed.                                                    
                       The issue is whether Appellants have shown that the Examiner erred                         
                in finding that Aycock discloses or suggests "placing a technology survey on                      
                the Web, said technology survey accessible to at least one supplier, said                         
                technology survey associated with an engineering organization related to a                        
                technology being surveyed."                                                                       
                       Appellants' Specification describes a "technical survey" as "a series of                   
                technical questions that begin the technology qualification process"                              
                ('372 publication ¶ 21).  The Specification does not describe what kind of                        
                technical questions are in the technical survey.  Aycock discloses that the                       
                suppliers perform a self-evaluation/verification in which they respond to                         
                questions (col. 12, ll. 37-56) and we see no reason why this cannot be termed                     
                a "technical survey" absent a specific definition by Appellants.  The supplier                    
                qualification is based on hardware and software standards (col. 5, ll. 19-36),                    
                such as hardware and software requirements for a voice mail system (col. 5,                       
                ll. 44-65), and examples are given of an automobile manufacturer, a high-                         
                technology systems integrator, and a telecommunications company (col. 1,                          
                ll. 16-31), so one of ordinary skill in the art would reasonably find the buyer                   
                sending out the RFP/RFQ in Aycock to be an engineering organization; i.e.,                        
                the buyer is looking to evaluate suppliers for building a product which                           
                requires engineering.  We conclude that the Examiner has established a                            


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