Appeal No. 95-4629
Application 07/831,953
In re Donaldson, 16 F.3d ll89, 1194, 29 USPQ2d 1845, 1850
(Fed. Cir. 1994) (in banc). A means-plus-function element is
limited to the disclosed means and equivalents. Id.; 35
U.S.C. § 112, sixth paragraph.
In the present case, appellant argues that the correction
means, as disclosed in the specification, operates where the
user intentionally wishes to have the icon image protrude from
the visible area of the display, and operates to correct the
position of the icon depending on the occurrence of a first or
second condition. Appeal Brief at 4. The examiner ignored
those limitations. That is contrary to what the Federal
Circuit intended in Donaldson.
The recited means refers to the “visible area of the
display.” The examiner relies on the Borland reference, which
has windows overlapping within the visible area of the
display. While the overlapped portion of a window becomes
invisible in Borland, it does not thereby protrude beyond the
edge of the display device as disclosed in the specification
and required by the claims.
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