Appeal No. 2001-2247 3
Application No. 08/955,717
(j) adjusting the alcohol concentration of the brew with carbonated water
to a preselected level, and then aging the resultant brew for at least 24
hours.
THE REFERENCES OF RECORD
As evidence of obviousness, the examiner relies upon the following references:
Helm et al. (Helm) 3,544,329 Dec. 1, 1970
Reuther 5,242,694 Sep. 7, 1993
THE REJECTION
Claims 1 through 8 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. §103(a) as being unpatentable
over Reuther in view of Helm.
OPINION
We have carefully considered all of the arguments advanced by the appellants and
the examiner and agree with the appellants that the rejection of the claims under Section
103(a) is not well founded. Accordingly, we reverse this rejection.
The Rejection under Section 103(a)
"[T]he examiner bears the initial burden, on review of the prior art or on any other
ground, of presenting a prima facie case of unpatentability." See In re Oetiker, 977 F.2d
1443, 1445, 24 USPQ2d 1443, 1444 (Fed. Cir. 1992). The examiner relies upon a
combination of two references to reject the claimed subject matter and establish a prima
facie case of obviousness.
The principal issue before us for consideration is directed to the limitation of
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