Appeal No. 2002-0267 Page 7
Application No. 09/440,496
first and second equally sized portions (12 and 14) that are foldable with respect to one
another. It also is confirmed by Ball, which discloses a coin display device comprising a
number of sections which are foldable relative to one another between a storage
position and a display position (column 1, lines 15-22). We agree with the examiner
that one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to fold the Penny Map
into two sections relative to one another along a fold line to facilitate storage in view of
the teachings of Di Egidio, Ball, and skill in the art, considering that in an obviousness
assessment, skill is presumed on the part of the artisan, rather than the lack thereof. In
re Sovish, 769 F.2d 738, 743, 226 USPQ 771, 774 (Fed. Cir. 1985).
With regard to (2) above, from our perspective, one of ordinary skill in the art
would recognize the clear error of placing openings within which coins or the like are to
be stored or positioned along the fold line of a board, for to do so would preclude
folding until the items are removed from the openings in which they are held. In re
Sovish, supra. This is documented by Ball. We agree with the examiner that it would
have been obvious to position the openings away from the fold lines in the modified
Penny Map.
The appellants have admitted on page 3 of their specification that those skilled in
the art would recognize that different sizes of openings could be used in the board. It
thus would appear that the size specified in claim 64 is not critical, but need merely
accommodate the coin or taken being utilized on the map, which in this case is a United
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007