Ex parte LONGCOR et al. - Page 6




          Appeal No. 97-0032                                                          
          Application No. 08/095,295                                                  


          relevant art having the references before him to make the                   
          proposed combination or other modification.  See In re Lintner, 9           
          F.2d 1013, 1016, 173 USPQ 560, 562 (CCPA 1972).  Furthermore, the           
          conclusion that the claimed subject matter is prima facie                   
          obvious must be supported by evidence, as shown by some objective           
          teaching in the prior art or by knowledge generally available to            
          one of ordinary skill in the art that would have led that                   
          individual to combine the relevant teachings of the references to           
          arrive at the claimed invention.  See In re Fine, 837 F.2d 1071,            
          1074, 5 USPQ2d 1596, 1598 (Fed. Cir. 1988).  Rejections based on            
          § 103 must rest on a factual basis with these facts being                   
          interpreted without hindsight reconstruction of the invention               
          from the prior art.  The examiner may not, because of doubt that            
          the invention is patentable, resort to speculation, unfounded               
          assumption or hindsight reconstruction to supply deficiencies in            
          the factual basis for the rejection.  See In re Warner, 379 F.2d            
          1011, 1017, 154 USPQ 173, 177 (CCPA 1967), cert. denied, 389 U.S.           
          1057 (1968).  Our reviewing court has repeatedly cautioned                  
          against employing hindsight by using the appellants' disclosure             
          as a blueprint to reconstruct the claimed invention from the                
          isolated teachings of the prior art.  See, e.g., Grain Processing           



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