Appeal No. 2000-1465 Page 2
Application No. 09/037,485
BACKGROUND
The appellant’s invention relates to a strainer assembly for bathtub drains and the
like. Claim 5 has been reproduced below.
The prior art references of record relied upon by the examiner in rejecting the
appealed claim are:
Bergin 3,800,339 Apr. 2, 1974
Mowery 5,363,518 Nov. 15, 1994
Claim 5 stands rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over
Bergin in view of Mowery.
Rather than reiterate the conflicting viewpoints advanced by the examiner and the
appellant regarding the above-noted rejections, we make reference to the Answer (Paper
No. 12) for the examiner's complete reasoning in support of the rejection, and to the Brief
(Paper No. 10) and the Reply Brief (Paper No. 13) 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. As a consequence of
our review, we make the determinations which follow.
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