Appeal No. 1997-4385
Application No. 08/288,864
gases.
Before addressing the examiner's rejection based upon
prior art, it is an essential prerequisite that the claimed
subject matter be fully understood. Analysis of whether a
claim is patentable over the prior art under 35 U.S.C. §§ 102
and 103 begins with a determination of the scope of the claim.
The properly interpreted claim must then be compared with the
prior art. Claim interpretation must begin with the language
of the claim itself. See Smithkline Diagnostics, Inc. v.
Helena Laboratories Corp., 859 F.2d 878, 882, 8 USPQ2d 1468,
1472 (Fed. Cir. 1988). Accordingly, we will initially direct
our attention
to the appellant’s claim 19 to derive an understanding of the
scope and content thereof.
Before turning to the proper construction of the claims,
it is important to review some basic principles of claim
construction. First, and most important, the language of the
claim defines the scope of the protected invention. Yale Lock
Mfg. Co. v. Greenleaf, 117 U.S. 554, 559 (1886) ("The scope of
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