Appeal No. 2000-1582
Application 08/697,034
the Hagiwara bumper would be mechanically finished (sanded)
after molding to prepare it for painting or to provide it with
a smooth appearance, there is no indication in the reference
that the bumper is to be painted or that its as-molded surface
is not sufficiently smooth, nor has the examiner cited any
evidence that molded bumpers as disclosed by Hagiwara would5
necessarily be sanded. Since inherency “may not be
established by probabilities or possibilities,” In re Oelrich,
666 F.2d 578, 581, 212 USPQ 323, 326 (CCPA 1981), the
possibility that under some scenarios the bumper of Hagiwara
might be mechanically finished does not establish that a
mechanical finish would necessarily be present, and thus, does
not establish inherency.
The § 102(b) rejection therefore will not be sustained.
(B) REJECTIONS UNDER § 103(a)
Rejection (1)
Claim 2 reads:
5 When the reference is silent about the asserted inherent
limitation, such gap in the reference may be filled by
recourse to extrinsic evidence. See MPEP § 2131.01, part III
(Feb. 2000), and cases cited therein.
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