Appeal No. 97-1977
Application 07/970,862
rejection of the appealed claims under 35 U.S.C. § 103 cannot be
sustained. Our reasoning for such determination follows.
As has been observed by the examiner, Williams
discloses a device which may be broadly viewed as a neck
supported printed matter display holder. More particularly,
Williams describes the article therein as a security wallet (10)
that is secured to an elongated cord (11) which is intended to be
worn over the user's neck or shoulder, as generally depicted in
Figure 1 of the patent drawings. Williams indicates (col. 2,
line 67 et seq.) that the security wallet may be concealed
beneath a person's coat or jacket, or alternatively may be
slipped under the wearer's shirt for maximum security. The
examiner notes that Williams includes a pocket (40) inside the
wallet which has a transparent window (38) and that this pocket
is used for carrying documentation that must be displayed from
time to time (col. 6, lines 3-7).
On pages 4-5 of the answer, the examiner has taken the
position that while the Williams patent is described in terms of
the apparatus, the steps involved to take the device from its
4
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007