Appeal No. 1998-2983
Application No. 08/481,230
Cir. 1988), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 986 (1988). What we are dealing with in this case is
the construction of the limitations recited in the appealed claims.
The specification expressly states that
[t]he term "window" as used herein means a region (usually rectangular) of a
computer display screen which the operating system of the computer grants
use of to an application. The window has associated controls which direct
the actions of the application. The size and location of the window on the
display screen can also be changed by the user of the computer.
A computer having the ability to display multiple windows provides
visual access to the application running in each of the windows. Typically,
the user of the computer can scale, move and otherwise arrange the
windows on the screen. (Specification at page 5.)
While we agree with appellants that the term “window” is specifically defined in the
specification. The generally accepted definition in the relevant area of the prior art does
not require that a “window has associated controls which direct the actions of the
application.” The term “window” is defined in The American Heritage® Dictionary of
the English Language as “a small area on a screen in which a file or a part of a file
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can be displayed.” Furthermore, the Microsoft Press Computer Dictionary, Third
Edition (1997) defines window as “[i]n applications and graphical interfaces, a portion of
the screen that can contain its own document or message. In window-based programs,
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition copyright © 1992 by1
Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from INSO Corporation; further reproduction and
distribution restricted in accordance with the Copyright Law of the United States. All rights reserved. A
copy attached to decision.
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