Appeal No. 2001-1402
Application 09/287,838
clown’s head is not a “figure” because it does not include a
bodily shape or form, but we consider this to be too narrow a
reading of the term. Prior art references may be indicative
of what a claim term would mean to one of ordinary skill in
the art, In re Cortright, 165 F.3d 1353, 1358, 49 USPQ2d 1464,
1467 (Fed. Cir. 1999), and here the Meier reference itself
refers to the clown’s head 2 as a “molded figure” (col. 2,
line 21). We therefore conclude that the clown’s head 2 of
Meier, being a small molded figure, constitutes a “figurine”
as recited in claim 1.
As for whether Meier’s figurine is “configured to stand
erect on a floor surface,” as claim 1 requires, the top and
bottom portions 3, 4 of the Meier accessory 1 would form a
base or pedestal of the figurine when accessory 1 was removed
from the shoe, thereby allowing the figurine to stand erect on
the floor. Appellant’s argument that hinge members 11 would
prevent this (brief, page 3) is not understood, but in any
event, the modification shown in Meier’s Fig. 4 clearly would
meet the claim requirement in question.
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