Appeal No. 1998-2494
Application No. 08/521,363
OPINION
Appellants’ independent claims (1-3) are each directed to a magnetic recording
medium using a ferromagnetic thin film as a magnetic layer. The claims recite that the
“fluctuation field of magnetic viscosity” at the field strength equal to “remanence coercivity
or coercivity” is “not less than” a certain number of oersteds. Appellants’ specification
refers to two prior art publications for the meaning and background of “fluctuation field of
magnetic viscosity” (see specification, page 2), and describes how the measurement of
“fluctuation field” is to be performed (see id. at pages 6-7).
“Anticipation is established only when a single prior art reference discloses,
expressly or under principles of inherency, each and every element of a claimed invention.”
RCA Corp. v. Applied Digital Data Sys., Inc., 730 F.2d 1440, 1444, 221 USPQ 385, 388
(Fed. Cir. 1984). The section 102 rejection over Murayama is based on the examiner’s
finding that the reference discloses materials which are inherently within the scope of the
claims. The finding of inherency is based in turn on the finding that Murayama discloses
magnetic layers of composition similar to those disclosed by appellants, and additionally
discloses magnetic recording media having coercivities of over 2000 oersteds. (See
Answer, page 3.)
Appellants’ position, as stated on pages 11 and 12 of the Brief, is that the
fluctuation field of the ferromagnetic thin film is dependent on factors in addition to
-3-
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