Appeal No. 2000-1612
Application 08/938,844
combination of the references relied upon by the examiner, we
observe that where the issue is one of obviousness under
35 U.S.C. § 103, the proper inquiry should not be limited to
the specific structure shown by a reference, but should be
into the concepts fairly contained therein, with the
overriding question to be determined being whether those
concepts would have suggested to one skilled in the art the
modification called for by the claims. See In re Bascom, 230
F.2d 612, 614, 109 USPQ 98, 100 (CCPA 1956). Furthermore,
under 35 U.S.C. § 103, a reference must be considered not only
for what it expressly teaches, but also for what it fairly
suggests (In re Burckel, 592 F.2d 1175, 1179, 201 USPQ 67, 70
(CCPA 1979); In re Lamberti, 545 F.2d 747, 750, 192 USPQ 278,
280 (CCPA 1976)), as well as the reasonable inferences which
the artisan would logically draw from the reference. See In
re Shepard, 219 F.2d 194, 197, 138 USPQ 148, 150 (CCPA 1963).
As stated by the Court in In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 425, 208
USPQ 871, 881 (CCPA 1981)
The test for obviousness is not whether the features
of a secondary reference may be bodily incorporated into
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