Appeal No. 2003-0017 Page 3
Application No. 09/326,996
Claims 13 to 15 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable
over Piazza in view of Luther.
Rather than reiterate the conflicting viewpoints advanced by the examiner and
the appellant regarding the above-noted rejections, we make reference to the answer
(Paper No. 13, mailed June 4, 2002) for the examiner's complete reasoning in support
of the rejections, and to the brief (Paper No. 8, filed May 2, 2001), supplemental brief
(Paper No. 12, filed March 26, 2002) and reply brief (Paper No. 14, filed August 13,
2002) for the appellant's arguments thereagainst.
OPINION
In reaching our decision in this appeal, we have given careful consideration to
the appellant's specification and claims, to the applied prior art references, and to the
respective positions articulated by the appellant and the examiner. Upon evaluation of
all the evidence before us, it is our conclusion that the evidence adduced by the
examiner is insufficient to establish a prima facie case of obviousness with respect to
the claims under appeal. Accordingly, we will not sustain the examiner's rejection of
claims 2 to 11, 13 to 15, 21 and 22 under 35 U.S.C. § 103. Our reasoning for this
determination follows.
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