Appeal No. 1998-2989
Application No. 08/566,987
In addition to reversing the examiner’s rejection of claims 15-20, this decision contains
a new ground of rejection of claim 15 alone pursuant to 37 CFR
§ 1.196(b)(amended effective Dec. 1, 1997, by final rule notice, 62 Fed. Reg. 53,131,
53,197 (Oct. 10, 1997), 1203 Off. Gaz. Pat. & Trademark Office 63, 122 (Oct. 21, 1997)).
37 CFR § 1.196(b) provides, “A new ground of rejection shall not be considered final for
purposes of judicial review.”
Regarding any affirmed rejection, 37 CFR § 1.197(b) provides:
(b) Appellant may file a single request for rehearing within two months from
the date of the original decision . . . .
37 CFR § 1.196(b) also provides that the appellant, WITHIN TWO MONTHS FROM
THE DATE OF THE DECISION, must exercise one of the following two options with
respect to the new ground of rejection to avoid termination of proceedings (37 CFR §
1.197(c)) as to the rejected claims:
(1) Submit an appropriate amendment of the claims so rejected or a showing of
facts relating to the claims so rejected, or both, and have the matter reconsidered by the
examiner, in which event the application will be remanded to the examiner. . . .
(2) Request that the application be reheard under § 1.197(b) by the Board of Patent
Appeals and Interferences upon the same record. . . .
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