Appeal No. 1998-1431 Page 4
Application No. 08/665,162
reasoning in support of the rejections, and to the appellants’
brief (Paper No. 9, filed September 12, 1997) for the
appellants’ arguments thereagainst.
OPINION
In reaching our decision in this appeal, we have given
careful consideration to the appellants’ specification and
claims, to the applied prior art references, and to the
respective positions articulated by the appellants and the
examiner. As a consequence of our review, we make the
determinations which follow.
The rejection in this case is under 35 U.S.C. § 103. In
rejecting claims under 35 U.S.C. § 103, the examiner bears the
initial burden of presenting a prima facie case of
obviousness. See In re Rijckaert, 9 F.3d 1531, 1532, 28
USPQ2d 1955, 1956 (Fed. Cir. 1993). A prima facie case of
obviousness is established by presenting evidence that the
reference teachings would appear to be sufficient for one of
ordinary skill in the relevant art having the references
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