Ex Parte ALFERNESS et al - Page 7




              Appeal No. 2002-1395                                                                     Page 7                 
              Application No. 08/789,702                                                                                      


              the circuit design" and that the template call "referenc[es] the corresponding template                         
              behavioral description."  The specification explains that "[t]he template is instantiated in                    
              the behavioral description of the circuit design by including the template call therein."                       
              (Spec. at 9.)                                                                                                   


                      In light of these explanations, we conclude that one skilled in the art would                           
              understand that the claimed template comprises a definition of part of a circuit and a                          
              reference to the definition incorporated into a description of the circuit.  Therefore, we                      
              reverse the indefiniteness rejection of claims 1-12, 16-47, and 51.                                             


                                                  Anticipation Rejection                                                      
                      "[T]o assure separate review by the Board of individual claims within each group                        
              of claims subject to a common ground of rejection, an appellant's brief to the Board                            
              must contain a clear statement for each rejection: (a) asserting that the patentability of                      
              claims within the group of claims subject to this rejection do  not stand or fall together,                     
              and (b) identifying which individual claim or claims within the group are separately                            
              patentable and the reasons why the examiner's rejection should not be sustained."  In                           
              re McDaniel, 293 F.3d 1379, 1383, 63 USPQ2d 1462, 1465 (Fed. Cir. 2002 (citing 37                               
              C.F.R. §1.192(c)(7) (2001)).  "Merely pointing out differences in what the claims cover is                      
              not an argument as to why the claims are separately patentable."  37 C.F.R.                                     








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