Appeal No. 96-2905
Application No. 29/008,076
After the hearing held on October 15, 1997 in this
appeal, it became apparent to the original three member panel
that a decision conflicting with the decision rendered by
another panel of the Board in Application No. 07/909,057 might
result. In view of the possibility of issuing such a
conflicting decision, in accordance with Standard Operating
Procedure 1, section V, part B, second paragraph, the original
three member panel brought this matter to the attention of
Chief Administrative Patent Judge Stoner by suggesting the
need for an expanded panel. Thereafter, Chief Administrative
Patent Judge Stoner ordered that the original panel be
expanded to eleven Administrative Patent Judges. Thus, Chief
Administrative Patent Judge Stoner and Administrative Patent
Judges Caroff, Meister, John D. Smith, Garris, Hairston, Staab
and Carmichael were added to the panel for purposes of
rendering a decision concerning the rejection of the single
design claim under 35 U.S.C. § 112, second paragraph.
Furthermore, 35 U.S.C. § 7 (b) plainly and unambiguously
requires that the Commissioner designate "at least three"
Board members to hear each appeal. By use of the language "at
11
Page: Previous 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007