Appeal No. 96-3144
Application 08/322,111
provide the desired periodically updated best estimate of the time remaining to complete
a task as the multitasking workstation processor undergoes changes in the data
processing workload being executed. (See brief at page 3, paragraph one.)
The Examiner recognizes appellant's argument concerning the lack of a teaching
concerning successive estimates, but does not directly address the argument in the
answer. (See answer at page 8, paragraphs 2-3.) The answer discusses dynamic control
and multitasking, but does not address "successive estimates." It is not clear if
the discussion was intended to assert that dynamic control and multitasking imply
successive estimates and subsequent communication thereof to a user, and we cannot
speculate as to the Examiner's findings beyond the written record. Our reviewing court has
repeatedly stated that
Obviousness is a legal conclusion which we are required to draw from
facts appearing in the record or of which judicial notice may be taken. Thus
before we can conclude that any disclosed invention is "obvious" under the
conditions specified in 35 U.S.C. § 103, we must evaluate facts from which
to determine 1) what was shown in the prior art at the time the invention was
made, and 2) the knowledge which a person of ordinary skill in the art
possessed at the time the invention was made.
Here, neither the record nor the facts of which we are able to take judicial
notice supplies the factual data necessary to support the legal conclusion of
obviousness of the invention at the time it was made. We are unwilling to
substitute speculation and hindsight appraisal of the prior art for such factual
data. For this reason we think there is a doubt as to the factual basis
supporting the conclusion of the board of appeals that the invention would
have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of metal spinning. Under
these circumstances, the doubt should be resolved in favor of the applicant.
(citations omitted)
5
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007