Ex parte MAGUIRE - Page 8




          Appeal No. 1999-2698                                                        
          Application 08/560,108                                                      


          in the prior art, or by implications contained in such                      
          teachings or suggestions.  In re Sernaker, 702 F.2d 989, 995,               
          217 USPQ 1, 6 (Fed. Cir. 1983).  The Federal Circuit states                 
          that “[t]he mere fact that the prior art may be modified in                 
          the manner suggested by Examiner does not make the                          
          modification obvious unless the prior art suggested the                     
          desirability of the modification.”  In re Fritch, 972 F.2d                  
          1260, 1266 n.14, 23 USPQ2d 1780, 1783-84 n.14 (Fed. Cir.                    
          1992), citing In re Gordon, 733 F.2d 900, 902, 221 USPQ 1125,               
          1127 (Fed. Cir. 1984).  It is further established that “[s]uch              
          a suggestion may come from the nature of the problem to be                  
          solved, leading inventors to look to references relating to                 
          possible solutions to that problem.”  Pro-Mold & Tool Co. v.                
          Great Lakes Plastics, 75 F.3d 1568, 1573, 37 USPQ2d 1626, 1630              
          (Fed. Cir. 1996) citing In re Rinehart, 531 F.2d 1048, 1054,                
          189 USPQ 143, 149 (CCPA 1976) (considering the problem to be                
          solved in a determination of obviousness).  The Federal                     
          Circuit reasons in Para-Ordnance Mfg. v. SGS Importers Int’l                
          Inc., 73 F.3d 1085, 1088-89, 37 USPQ2d 1237, 1239-40 (Fed.                  
          Cir. 1995), that for the determination of obviousness, the                  

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