Ex parte LEE - Page 9




          Appeal No. 1998-0701                                                        
          Application 08/263,744                                                      


          in the pertinent art would have been led to modify the prior                
          art or to combine prior art references to arrive at the                     
          claimed invention.  Such reason must stem from some teaching,               
          suggestion or implication in the prior art as a whole or                    
          knowledge generally available to one having ordinary skill in               
          the art.  Uniroyal, Inc. v. Rudkin-Wiley Corp., 837 F.2d 1044,              
          1051, 5 USPQ2d 1434, 1438 (Fed. Cir.), cert. denied, 488 U.S.               
          825 (1988); Ashland Oil, Inc. v. Delta Resins & Refractories,               
          Inc., 776 F.2d 281, 293, 227 USPQ 657, 664 (Fed. Cir. 1985),                
          cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1017 (1986); ACS Hosp. Sys., Inc. v.                 
          Montefiore Hosp., 732 F.2d 1572, 1577, 221 USPQ 929, 933 (Fed.              
          Cir. 1984).  These showings by the examiner are an essential                
          part of complying with the burden of                                        
          presenting a prima facie case of obviousness.  Note In re                   
          Oetiker, 977 F.2d 1443, 1445, 24 USPQ2d 1443, 1444 (Fed. Cir.               
          1992).  If that burden is met, the burden then shifts to the                
          applicant to overcome the prima facie case with argument                    
          and/or evidence.  Obviousness is then determined on the basis               
          of the evidence as a whole and the relative persuasiveness of               
          the arguments.  See Id.; In re Hedges, 783 F.2d 1038, 1039,                 
          228 USPQ 685, 686 (Fed. Cir. 1986); In re Piasecki, 745 F.2d                
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