Appeal No. 1998-1114
Application 08/353,254
The Examiner errs by trying to dispose of difference (1)
by pointing to individual elements in Yaezawa and Wong without
providing any motivation or explanation why it would have been
obvious to combine the elements in the manner claimed, i.e.,
the comparator sets the RS flip-flop when the output from the
key memory and the output from the input register coincide.
The Examiner finds, based on a discussion of the enormous
economic investment and the costs associated with errors in
design in satellite broadcasting and gaming technology
(EA8-10), that the level of knowledge and the level of
ordinary skill in the art was very high (EA10): "[I]t would
be indisputable that one of ordinary skill in the art would be
someone of extraordinary skill. For example, one of ordinary
skill would be someone with (1) a BSEE degree, and (2) an
advanced degree (e.g.: MSEE or Ph.D.), as well as substantial
(i.e., 10+ years) experience in electronics design of critical
components."
The Examiner has attempted to make a finding as to the
level of art, which is relied on in the obviousness
conclusion. Although we do not disagree with the Examiner's
ultimate finding, we see some problems. First, mere
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