Appeal No. 2001-1808
Application 08/987,487
by one possessing the ordinary level of skill in the pertinent
art. Id.
The language “athletic fields and the like” in the
preamble of claim 1 is indefinite because it is not clear from
the specification what additional matter the appellant intends
to cover by the words “and the like.” See Ex parte Remark, 15
USPQ2d 1498, 1500 (Bd. Pat. App. & Int. 1990); Ex parte
Kristensen, 10 USPQ2d 1701, 1703 (Bd. Pat. App. & Int. 1989).
Also, the characterization of the claimed “method of
identifying perimeter points” by the words “through the use of
a single strand of flexible rope” in the preamble of claim 1
is inconsistent on its face and when read in light of the
specification. In this regard, the specification indicates
what is manifest: that the identification of plural perimeter
points necessarily involves the use of a like plurality of
flexible rope strands. The presence of the singular terms
“hole,” “strand,” “anchor,” “upper portion” and “rope” in the
bodies of claims 1, 3 and 4 poses similar inconsistencies.
These terms should be appropriately amended, as by being
pluralized or modified by the term “each,” so as to be
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