Appeal No. 98-3306
Application 08/866,014
Moreover, the examiner’s position as stated above is also
directly contrary to appellants’ specification, e.g., at page
1, wherein it is indicted that an objective of the invention
is to provide improved trophy ball displays
“wherein the balls are accompanied by specific
visible decorative background display configurations
related to the historical and sentimental history of
a displayed ball by identification of a team or
institution,”
which clearly belies the examiner’s determination that
applicants have not disclosed that this feature “solves any
stated problem or is for any particular purpose” (answer, page
5). This portion of appellants’ specification also refutes
the examiner’s position that the shaping of the support
members as alphabetic characters in the form of an alphabetic
acronym initial identifying a preselected institution, has no
mechanical function, but merely increases the aesthetic
appearance of the rack (answer, pages 9-10). In this regard,
it is clear that, in addition to being ornamental, the
alphabetic characters in the form of an alphabetic acronym
initial of a particular institution have the function of 1)
identifying the institution, 2) providing a specialized form
of support for the souvenir ball, and 3) triggering memories
5
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Last modified: November 3, 2007