Ex parte ROBICHAUX et al. - Page 9




                 Appeal No. 97-0755                                                                                       Page 9                        
                 Application No. 08/400,066                                                                                                             


                 The prior art issues                                                                                                                   
                          We sustain the examiner's rejection of claim 14  under                              5                                         
                 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)/(e) as being anticipated by Lipinski.                                                                               


                          A claim is anticipated only if each and every element as                                                                      
                 set forth in the claim is found, either expressly or                                                                                   
                 inherently described, in a single prior art reference.                                                                                 
                 Verdegaal Bros. Inc. v. Union Oil Co., 814 F.2d 628, 631, 2                                                                            
                 USPQ2d 1051, 1053 (Fed. Cir.), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 827                                                                              
                 (1987).  The inquiry as to whether a reference anticipates a                                                                           
                 claim must focus on what subject matter is encompassed by the                                                                          
                 claim and what subject matter is described by the reference.                                                                           
                 As set forth by the court in Kalman v. Kimberly-Clark Corp.,                                                                           
                 713 F.2d 760, 772, 218 USPQ 781, 789 (Fed. Cir. 1983), cert.                                                                           
                 denied, 465 U.S. 1026 (1984), it is only necessary for the                                                                             
                 claims to "'read on' something disclosed in the reference,                                                                             
                 i.e., all limitations of the claim are found in the reference,                                                                         
                 or 'fully met' by it."                                                                                                                 

                          5In accordance with 37 CFR § 1.192(c)(7), we have                                                                             
                 selected claim 14 from the appellants' grouping of claims                                                                              
                 (brief, p. 2) to decide the appeal on this rejection under 35                                                                          
                 U.S.C. § 102.                                                                                                                          







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