Appeal No. 1998-3301 Page 16
Application No. 08/784,361
prima facie obvious must be supported by evidence, as shown by
some objective teaching in the prior art or by knowledge
generally available to one of ordinary skill in the art that
would have led that individual to combine the relevant
teachings of the references to arrive at the claimed
invention. See In re Fine, 837 F.2d 1071, 1074, 5 USPQ2d
1596, 1598 (Fed. Cir. 1988).
Like the claims subjected to the anticipation rejections
reversed above, the claims (i.e., claims 8 through 10, 17
through 19 and 26 through 30) subjected to the obviousness
rejections recite a drive-up mail distribution, storage and
pick-up assembly comprising, inter alia, a plurality of mail
boxes and a driveway. The claims further recite that (1) the
mail boxes are arranged in horizontal rows and retained in a
frame including a front panel, (2) each mail box includes a
lockable front door opening from the front panel, and (3) the
driveway is arranged in such close proximity to the front
panel that a driver of vehicle can reach out from the vehicle
and open and close the mail box front door without having to
leave the vehicle.
Page: Previous 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007