Appeal No. 2001-1493 Page 4
Application No. 09/109,016
appellant has expressly set forth definitions on pages 5 and 6 of his specification which
distinguish a “punch out” from a “cutout.” In particular, appellant’s specification informs us
that a “punch out” is an area in a sheet of paper from which the paper has been removed
so that a ring of a standard ring binder can pass therethrough to bind the sheet in a
standard ring binder and that a “cutout” is an area in an oversized piece of paper from
which the paper has been removed and can be any shape that extends to the edge of the
paper that will be bound within a ring binder and allows a non-standard size portion of an
oversized sheet of paper to be folded 90 degrees relative to the binding edge and
unfolded without interference from a ring of a ring binder or without the necessity of
opening a binder ring. As it is well established that an applicant can be his own
lexicographer provided the applicant's definition, to the extent it differs from the
conventional definition, is clearly set forth in the specification (Beachcombers Int’l, Inc. v.
WildeWood Creative Prods., Inc., 31 F.3d 1154, 1158, 31 USPQ2d 1653, 1656 (Fed. Cir.
1994)), we must accept the above-mentioned definitions of “punch out” and “cutout” in
interpreting appellant’s claims.
Yerkes discloses a hand punch having a plurality of head assemblies 25, each
including a punch pin 27, adapted to form a plurality of round punch outs in a sheet of
paper which are spaced from the binding edge of the sheet. The number of active head
assemblies may be varied as desired so that the sheet may be perforated in selected
patterns to fit various types of ring binders, pin files and the like (column 1, lines 7-12).
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