Appeal No. 1999-0076
Application No. 08/348,699
REMAND
We remand this application to the examiner to consider
the following matter.
The prior art relevant to an obviousness determination
encompasses not only the particular field of an inventor’s
endeavor but also any analogous arts. See Heidelberger
Druckmaschinen AG v. Hantscho Commercial Products, Inc., 21
F.3d 1068, 1071, 30 USPQ2d 1377, 1379 (Fed. Cir. 1994). The
test of whether a reference is from a nonanalogous art is
first, whether it is within the field of the inventor's
endeavor, and second, if it is not, whether it is reasonably
pertinent to the particular problem with which the inventor
was involved. See In re Wood, 599 F.2d 1032, 1036, 202 USPQ
171, 174 (CCPA 1979). A reference is reasonably pertinent if,
even though it may be in a different field of endeavor, it is
one which because of the matter with which it deals, logically
would have commended itself to an inventor's attention in
considering his problem. In re Clay,
966 F.2d 656, 659, 23 USPQ2d 1058, 1061 (Fed. Cir. 1992).
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