Appeal No. 97-0608
Application 08/287,143
it would be merely prudent to at least inquire in Classes 206
and 241 also.3
This decision contains a new ground of rejection
pur- suant to 37 CFR § 1.196(b) (amended effective Dec. 1,
1997, by
final rule notice, 62 Fed. Reg. 53,131, 53,197 (Oct. 10,
1997), 1203 Off. Gaz. Pat. & Trademark Office 63, 122 (Oct.
21, 1997)). 37 CFR § 1.196(b) provides that “[a] new ground
of rejection shall not be considered final for purposes of
judicial review.”
3In addition to the above search areas, we are also aware
of corrugated cardboard dividers used in beverage boxes to
define spaces for the bottles and protect the bottles therein
during shipping and handling. These dividers usually
interlock with
at least one other divider at slits therein to define the
spaces for the bottles. Given the nature and use of these
dividers, we consider that these cardboard dividers would be
broadly viewed by one of ordinary skill in the art as being
"void fill material" and also that they are most likely formed
by some type of cutting process, such as by either stamping or
rotary cutting. Thus, these cardboard divider elements would
appear to be particularly relevant to the presently claimed
subject matter. Accordingly, we encourage the examiner to
pursue this field of search also.
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