Appeal No. 2003-0194
Application No. 09/280,112
Noguchi et al. (Noguchi) 5,117,488 May 26, 1992
Lau et al. (Lau) 5,553,023 Sep. 03, 1996
Claims 1-142 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as
unpatentable over Noguchi in view of Lau.
Reference is made to the briefs and answer for the
respective positions of appellants and the examiner.
OPINION
In rejecting claims under 35 U.S.C. § 103, it is incumbent
upon the examiner to establish a factual basis to support the
legal conclusion of obviousness. See In re Fine, 837 F.2d 1071,
1073, 5 USPQ2d 1596, 1598 (Fed. Cir. 1988). In so doing, the
examiner is expected to make the factual determinations set forth
in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 17, 148 USPQ 459, 467
(1966), and to provide a reason why one having ordinary skill in
the pertinent art would have been led to modify the prior art or
to combine prior art references to arrive at the claimed
invention. Such reason must stem from some teachings,
suggestions or implications in the prior art as a whole or
knowledge generally available to one having ordinary skill in the
art. Uniroyal, Inc. v. Rudkin-Wiley Corp., 837 F.2d 1044, 1051,
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