Appeal No. 2001-0661 2
Application No. 08/480,232
Appellants’ invention “relates to electrotransport devices having physically coupled,
substantially rigid zones or regions wherein the means of coupling permits the zones or
regions to be planar or non-planar and thereby to conform to complex, curved and non-
planar surfaces” (specification, page 1). A copy of the appealed claims is appended to
appellants’ main brief (Paper No. 17).
The sole reference relied upon by the examiner as evidence of anticipation and
obviousness is:
Sibalis 4,708,716 Nov. 24, 1987
Claims 1, 7-13, 17-21, 27-30, 34 and 40-47 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C.
§ 102(b) as being anticipated by Sibalis.
Claims 2-6, 14-16, 22-26, 31-33, 35-39 and 51-56 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C.
§ 103 as being unpatentable over Sibalis.
Reference is made to appellants’ main, supplemental and reply briefs (Paper Nos.
17, 21, 24 and 26), and to the examiner’s most recent office action (Paper No. 22) and
answer (Paper No. 25) for the respective positions of appellants and the examiner
regarding the merits of these rejections.
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