Appeal No. 2002-0507 Page 5
Application No. 09/405,872
USPQ 193, 198 (Fed. Cir. 1983); Kalman v. Kimberly-Clark Corp., 713 F.2d760, 771,
218 USPQ 781, 789 (Fed. Cir. 1983)). "[A]bsence from the reference of any claimed
element negates anticipation." Kloster Speedsteel AB v. Crucible, Inc., 793 F.2d 1565,
1571, 230 USPQ 81, 84 (Fed. Cir. 1986).
Here, Dennis discloses "a standoff telephone mounting bracket 4. . . ." Col. 3,
l. 19. "The mounting bracket 4 includes a pair of elongated side walls 8, 9 which
are spaced apart and joined together along a lower edge thereof by end dividers 10, 11,
middle divider 12 and bracing dividers 13, 14." Id. at ll. 27-30. Mounting elements are
included in the bracket as "mounting holes 16 in one or more of the dividers 10-14." Id.
at 35-36. Although the reference's bracket includes mounting holes, we are not
persuaded that the holes are used to attach the bracket to a connector block having
wire wrap pins extending upwardly therefrom. To the contrary, "[t]he bracket 4 may be
attached to a support structure, wall or the like by placing a screw or bolt through
mounting holes 16 in one or more of the dividers 10-14." Id. at ll. 33-36 (emphasis
added).
The absence from the reference of attaching a bracket to a connector block
having wire wrap pins extending upwardly therefrom negates anticipation. Therefore,
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