Appeal No. 97-2867
Application No. 29/012,093
extending edge lines and discontinuous detents. Appeal Brief
at 5.
DISCUSSION
The starting point for an obviousness determination in a
design patent application is whether there is something in
existence, the design characteristics of which are basically the
same as the claimed design. In re Rosen, 673 F.2d 388, 390, 213
USPQ 347, 349 (CCPA 1982).
In the present case, the design characteristics of the
claimed design include the following. The most striking visual
aspect of the claimed design is its appearance as a long
cylinder. It gives a visual impression of extending in the axial
direction a significant distance. Another design characteristic
is the presence near one cylinder end of a circumferential array
of recesses. The overall ornamental appearance of the design is
largely one of an extended cylinder with the circumferential
array of recesses being a short distance from one end.
We do not agree with the examiner’s reasons for ignoring the
visual impact of the circumferential array of recesses in the
claimed design. As argued (Reply Brief at 1 and 2), the
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