Appeal No. 1996-1876
Application No. 08/344,663
less than 1.6 to produce a reflectance of at least 70%, a
standard property measurement satisfying compact disk (CD)
standards. The equation defining the optical parameter D
relates properties of the light absorptive layer (i.e., “the
real part of the complex refractive index” and “the average
thickness in nanometers”) to a property of a “reading laser
beam” (i.e., its wavelength in nanometers). Thus, the
equation, in a broad sense, defines a relationship between the
device (i.e., the claimed optical recording medium) and a
recording laser. In effect, the optical parameter D places
restrictions on the structure of the claimed device only in
the context of a future intended use with respect to the
selection of a laser for “reading.”
All appealed claims are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112,
second paragraph, as indefinite. In assessing the
indefiniteness issue raised in his appeal, we keep in mind the
following principles. A patentee has the right to exclude
others from making, using and selling the invention covered by
the patent
(35 U.S.C. § 154), and the purpose of the second paragraph of
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