Appeal 97-1804
Application 08/329,042
The language "continuous, non-porous" was inserted into
the specification and claims to overcome the examiner's
citation of Hens. It is true that the specification, as
filed, does not explicitly describe applicant's layers 2 and
2A as being continuous and non-porous. Likewise, the
specification does not define or discuss the meaning of
"continuous" or "non-porous."
There is a dictionary definition of "porous" in the
record. But, the dictionary (Webster's II, New Riverside5
University Dictionary) does not purport to be a technical
dictionary, let alone a dictionary in the photoconducting art.
In this respect, we believe that the observation about
dictionaries in Anderson v. International Engineering and
Manufacturing Inc., 160 F.3d 1345, 1348, 48 USPQ2d 1631, 1634
(Fed. Cir. 1998) is applicable. The Federal Circuit noted
that definitions in dictionaries all reflect common usages of
"away" and reinforce the observation that dictionary
definitions of ordinary words are rarely dispositive of their
The definition is: "Having or full of pores." Pore is defined as "A minute5
orifice, as one in the skill of an animal, serving as an outlet for perspiration, or in
a plant stem or left, serving as a means of absorption and transpiration" and "A minute
surface opening or passageway, as in a rock."
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