Appeal No. 96-1075
Application 08/041,737
superconductor region," "prevents oxidation of said
semiconductor region," and "protecting said semiconductor
region from contamination during formation of said
superconductor region" are functional and not entitled to
patentable weight unless expressed in means-plus-function
format. The limitations recite functional characteristics
or properties of the "barrier layer" in claim 52 and the
"layer in contact with and overlying said semiconductor
region" in claims 61 and 66; thus, this is not a case where
there is no structure recited to support the function.
Functional language supported by structure does not have to
be recited in means-plus-function format. The noted
limitations are entitled to patentable weight. It appears
that the Examiner has addressed the limitations in the
rejection despite saying that they are not entitled to
weight.
Second, there is a question whether claims 61, 66, 71,
and 76 contain process limitations and to what extent the
Examiner afforded patentable weight to such limitations. As
noted by Appellants (Br20), the Final Rejection states that
regarding "claims 22-25, the process limitation of when the
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