III. DISCUSSION A. Procedural issues We note that each party argues that the other party, at times, fails to comply with proper procedure in presenting its arguments in its preliminary motions. Both parties point to our decision in LeVeen v. Edwards, 57 USPQ2d 1406 (BPAI (ITS) 2000). As noted by Glaxo, LeVeen was decided after the initial preliminary motions were filed in the interference (Paper 154 at 3). However, to the extent Glaxo is arguing that LeVeen should not apply in the present interference, we note that the decision in LeVeen did not present any new procedural requirements for interferences. For example, LeVeen discussed requirements found in the Notice Declaring Interference (Paper 1). One portion of LeVeen, set out below, discusses improper incorporation by reference, 57 USPQ at 1412:9 The NOTICE DECLARING INTERFERENCE explicitly precludes incorporation by reference of arguments. There are numerous reasons why an agency, in general or in a particular case, may preclude incorporation by reference in papers presented to the agency. First, an incorporated argument may be overlooked (Paper 1, page 10 n.7). Second, incorporation of arguments is not consistent with efficient decision making (Paper 1, page 10 n.7). Essentially, incorporation by reference is an inappropriate role-shifting technique which makes it a decision maker's job to (1) scour the record, (2) come up with some theory which supports a party's case and (3) articulate a rationale in an opinion supporting the rationale without giving an opponent a reasonable chance to address the rationale. Third, through incorporation by reference an attorney can avoid page limitations applicable to motions (Paper 1, page 27 ¶ 28). Compare DeSilva v. DiLeonardi, 181 F.3d 865, 866-67 (7th Cir. 1999) (“[a]doption by reference amounts to a self-help increase in the length of the * * * brief. * * * [I]ncorporation by reference is a 9 ¶ 13 of the Notice Declaring Interference states that (Paper 1 at 9): Arguments presented in one paper shall not be incorporated by reference to another paper. -17-Page: Previous 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 NextLast modified: November 3, 2007