Appeal No. 1999-2439 Page 3 Application No. 08/731,857 4, mailed September 18, 1998) and the answer (Paper No. 8, mailed April 13, 1999) for the examiner's complete reasoning in support of the rejection, and to the brief (Paper No. 6, filed March 22, 1999) for the appellant's arguments thereagainst. OPINION In reaching our decision in this appeal, we have given careful consideration to the appellant's specification and claims, to the applied prior art references, and to the respective positions articulated by the appellant and the examiner. Upon evaluation of all the evidence before us, it is our conclusion that the evidence adduced by the examiner is insufficient to establish a prima facie case of obviousness with respect to the claims under appeal. Accordingly, we will not sustain the examiner's rejection of claims 4, 5 and 14 to 20 under 35 U.S.C. § 103. Our reasoning for this determination follows. In rejecting claims under 35 U.S.C. § 103, the examiner bears the initial burden of presenting a prima facie case ofPage: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 NextLast modified: November 3, 2007