Appeal No. 97-4211
Application 98/614,844
rear tailgate area of a truck bed (e.g., col. 1, lines 9-47)
and the clear statement that it is an objective of the
invention in Brady to “maintain the rearward portion of the
truck bed free from obstructions while the storage box is in
the forwardmost stowed position” (col. 1, lines 61-65), we
find it to be almost incomprehensible that one of ordinary
skill in the art would have contemplated sizing and
positioning the receptacle and mounting rails of the combined
storage box and bed liner of Peters in the manner urged by the
examiner. If anything, Brady clearly teaches away from a
storage receptacle positioned in the specific manner set forth
in appellant’s claims on appeal.
In our opinion, the examiner’s stated position is based
on impermissible hindsight gleaned from appellant’s own
disclosure and not from any fair teaching or suggestion found
in the applied Peters and Brady patents themselves. Absent
the disclosure of the present application, it is our opinion
that one of ordinary skill in the art would not have been
motivated to modify the
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