Appeal No. 1998-1472 Page 8
Application No. 08/427,721
light beam in conjunction with a counterpropagating focused
light beam.”
The adverbial prefix "counter" is defined as “in an
opposite direction ....” Webster's Third New International
Dictionary 518 (1971) (copy attached). Based on this
definition, the claimed term “counter-propagating focused
light beam” means that the focused beam travels in a direction
opposite to that of the plane-wave beam. Accordingly, claims
1-3, 34, 35, and 178 each require using light beams that
travel in opposite directions to create a holographic grating.
The examiner fails to show a disclosure of the
limitations in the prior art. “The Patent Office has the
initial duty of supplying the factual basis for its rejection.
It may not ... resort to speculation, unfounded assumptions or
hindsight reconstruction to supply deficiencies in its factual
basis.”
In re Warner, 379 F.2d 1011, 1017, 154 USPQ 173, 178 (CCPA
1967).
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