Appeal No. 2000-1413
Application No. 08/650,883
view of Wilson.
In addition to the foregoing, we REMAND this application
to the examiner for a more complete search of the prior art.
In the examination of an application for patent, the examiner
is charged with the responsibility of conducting a thorough
search of the prior art, which search should cover the
invention as described and claimed, including the inventive
concepts toward which the claims are directed. Noting that
the "SEARCHED" box on the file wrapper of the present
application indicates that the examiner only searched this
case in Class 4, subclasses 498, 499, we observe that §
904.01(c) of the M.P.E.P. cautions the examiner that not only
must the art be searched within which the invention claimed is
classifiable, but also all pertinent and analogous arts
regardless of where classified. In that regard, we see no
reason why the multi-layer sheet material disclosed in the
present application would be limited to use as a pool cover
like that searched by the examiner thus far. Accordingly, we
suggest the following areas as examples of those we think
should additionally be searched: Class 126, subclass 426 and
8
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007