Appeal No. 2000-0303 Page 4
Application No. 08/886,649
to 27 under 35 U.S.C. § 103. Our reasoning for this
determination follows.
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 would
have led one of ordinary skill in the art 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) and In re Lintner, 458 F.2d 1013,
1016, 173 USPQ 560, 562 (CCPA 1972).
All the claims under appeal recite a strainer for a drain
assembly comprising, inter alia, a cup-shaped body having an
upstanding smooth uncorrugated outer peripheral wall, a floor,
and an upraised central portion having an inner peripheral
wall and a top surface; a plurality of slots in the outer
peripheral wall for draining water; a plurality of slots in
the floor for draining water; a plurality of slots in the
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