Appeal No. 2001-2330
Application No. 09/245,443
and (2) if the reference is not within the field of the
inventor’s endeavor, whether the reference is reasonably
pertinent to the particular problem with which the inventor is
involved. In re Clay, 966 F.2d 656, 658-59, 23 USPQ2d 1058,
1060 (Fed. Cir. 1992).
The field of the appellant’s invention relates, at least in
part, to a boot shell “adapted to enclose a wearer’s foot and
have overlapping toe and heel portions, the amount of overlap of
the toe and heel portions being adjustable for accommodating
feet of different sizes” (specification, page 2). Lin is
directed to an adjustable shoe comprising a heel part having a
plurality of protrusions (211) and a toecap having a plurality
of holes (311), wherein selected protrusions are inserted into
selected holes to provide a shoe that matches the size of foot.
As such, Lin, in our opinion, is at least reasonably pertinent
to the particular problem addressed by appellant and thus
constitutes analogous art which was properly considered by the
examiner in evaluating the obviousness of the subject matter on
appeal.
Notwithstanding the above, we consider that the examiner’s
rejection of claims 1-8 and 11-15 as being unpatentable over
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