Appeal No. 97-2600 Application 08/500,091 The examiner has relied upon the following refer- ences to support a rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 112, first paragraph: Alvord 207,932 Sept. 10, 1878 Auburn 4,191,191 Mar. 4, 1980 Claims 16-25, 27, 29-37, 39 and 41-44 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112, first paragraph, as being based upon an original disclosure which fails to provide descriptive support for the subject matter now being claimed. The examiner’s rejection is explained on pages 4 and 5 of the Office action mailed December 19, 1995 (Paper No. 8). The arguments of the appellants and examiner in support2 of their respective positions may be found on pages 7-21 of the brief, pages 1-4 of the reply brief, pages 4-11 of the answer and pages 2-4 of the supplemental answer. As evi- 2Page 4 of the answer states that the “rejection is set forth in the prior Office actions paper numbers 8 and 12.” Such a procedure by the examiner is totally improper and inappropriate. The Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) § 1208 (6th ed., Rev. 2, Jul. 1996) expressly provides that incorporation by reference may be made only to a single other action. 3Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 NextLast modified: November 3, 2007