Appeal No. 2007-1110 Page 5
Application No. 09/832,603
not define “lowest cost potential.” The plain meaning of “potential” is “that can,
but has not yet, come into being; possible; latent; unrealized; undeveloped.” See
Webster’s New World Dictionary, Third Ed., 1988, p. 1056, second definition for
“potential”). Accordingly, the plain meaning of the phrase “lowest cost potential”
is the lowest cost that has not but could come into being.
9. The claimed process leaves open the manner by which the lowest cost that
has not but could come into being is to be determined.
10. The claim defines the “ought to be cost” as the total of the lowest cost that
has not but could come into being for each aspect of the component.
11. The breadth of the claim is such that the method does not preclude
consideration of supplier profit.
12. The claim makes no distinction between buyer cost and supplier cost.
13. The claim does not define the term “component”. The Specification does not
define the term “component.” Accordingly, the term is given its plain meaning
which is an element of a whole.
Obviousness
14. The Examiner provided an element-by-element analysis of the claims and
showed where in Burns every element except determining, by the computerized
process, a lowest potential cost for each of a plurality of aspects of the cost and
totaling the lowest potential cost for each of a plurality of aspects, yielding the
ought to be cost, is disclosed. The Examiner relied upon Horie to show that the
claimed subject matter Burns did not disclose was known in the prior art. Answer
3-6.
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