Appeal No. 1998-0726
Application 08/434,919
driver means when at least one of the turn signals is active
as set forth at the end of claims 5 and 8 on appeal.
We are therefore in agreement with the appellant's view
expressed at pages 4 and 5 of the brief that the mere fact
that Milde's prior art invention could have been modified is
not sufficient within 35 U.S.C. § 103 to have found obvious
the presently claimed invention since the statute requires
that we conclude that it would have been obvious. Even the
broad teachings noted at columns 1 and 2 of Milde would not
have led the artisan to have associated the operation of the
disable switch 68 to the normal operation of a turn signal in
a vehicle. Thus, we agree with appellant's observation at
page 7 of the brief that the examiner appears to have
exercised impermissible hindsight in arriving at the position
of unpatentability based upon Milde alone. The examiner's
views do not appear to be prospective in nature but rather
appear to be relying indirectly upon appellant's disclosed
invention.
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