Appeal No. 1999-2063
Application No. 08/744,432
envelope. However, it does not necessarily and inevitably
follow from this that the third or lower panel is optional and
may be eliminated, as appellants would have us believe. In
this regard, the term “and/or” at column 3, line 66, of the
specification may just as readily be interpreted by the
artisan as meaning that the placement of adhesive on the lower
panel is optional.
In short, we do not believe the disclosure of the
application as originally filed (i.e., the patent disclosure)
reasonably conveys to the artisan that appellants had
possession at that time of the subject matter set forth in
claims 21-26.
In summary, the standing rejections of claims 21-26 under
35 U.S.C. § 103 are reversed, and a new rejection of claims
21-26 pursuant to 37 CFR § 1.196(b) has been entered.
The decision of the examiner is reversed.
This decision contains a new ground of rejection pursuant
to 37 CFR § 1.196(b)(amended effective Dec. 1, 1997, by final
rule notice, 62 Fed. Reg. 53,131, 53,197 (Oct. 10, 1997), 1203
Off. Gaz. Pat. & Trademark Office 63, 122 (Oct. 21, 1997)).
37 CFR
14
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