Appeal No. 97-1627 Page 5
Application No. 08/202,991
examiner bears the initial burden of presenting a prima facie
case of unpatentability. If the burden of establishing a
prima facie case is met, the burden of coming forward with
evidence or argument shifts to the appellant. After evidence
or argument is submitted by the appellant in response,
patentability is determined on the totality of the record, by
a preponderance of evidence with due consideration to
persuasiveness of argument. In re Oetiker, 977 F.2d 1443,
1445, 24 USPQ2d 1443, 1444 (Fed. Cir. 1992).
In reviewing the examiner's decision on appeal, the Board
of Patent Appeals and Interferences (Board) must weigh all the
evidence and argument. An observation by the Board that the
examiner made a prima facie case is not improper, if the
ultimate determination of patentability is made on the entire
record. Id., 24 USPQ2d at 1444. With this in mind, we
consider the enablement and definiteness of the claims.
Enablement
The examiner rejects claims 1-19 under 35 U.S.C. § 112,
¶ 1, for three reasons. We address these reasons seriatim.
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