Appeal No. 1999-1056
Application No. 08/525,844
response to the arguments presented by appellants appear in
the answer (Paper No. 16, mailed June 19, 1998), while the
complete statement of appellants' arguments can be found in
the main and reply briefs (Paper Nos. 15 and 18, filed May 4,
1998 and August 24, 1998, respectively).
OPINION
In reaching our decision in this appeal, we have given
careful consideration to the appellants' specification and
claims, to the applied prior art references, and to the
respective positions articulated by the appellants and the
examiner. As a consequence of our review, we have made the
determinations which follow.
In rejecting claims under 35 U.S.C. § 103 the examiner
bears the initial burden of presenting a prima facie case of
obviousness. In re Rijckaert, 9 F.3d 1531, 1532, 28 USPQ2d
1955, 1956 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Oetiker, 977 F.2d 1443,
1445, 24 USPQ2d 1443, 1444 (Fed. Cir. 1992). Only if that
burden is met does the burden of coming forward with evidence
or argument shift to the applicant. Id. If the examiner
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