Appeal No. 1997-0421 Page 6
Application No. 08/304,485
To establish a prima facie case of obviousness, an
examiner must explain why the teachings of the prior art would
have suggested the claimed subject matter to one of ordinary
skill in the art. See In re Rinehart, 531 F.2d 1048, 1051,
189 USPQ 143, 147 (CCPA 1976). The mere fact that the prior
art could be modified as proposed by the examiner is not
sufficient to establish a prima facie case. See In re Fritch,
972 F.2d 1260, 1266, 23 USPQ2d 1780, 1783 (Fed. Cir. 1992).
Based on this record, we are not convinced that the
examiner has met the burden of establishing a prima facie case
of obviousness. Accordingly, we will not sustain the stated
rejection.
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