Ex Parte SUTTERLIN et al - Page 5



          Appeal No. 2002-1318                                                        
          Application No. 08/693,662                                                  

          invention.  Such reason must stem from some teaching, suggestion            
          or implication 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, 5 USPQ2d 1434,             
          1438 (Fed. Cir. 1988); Ashland Oil, Inc. v. Delta Resins &                  
          Refractories, Inc., 776 F.2d 281, 293, 227 USPQ 657, 664 (Fed.              
          Cir. 1985); ACS Hosp. Sys., Inc. v. Montefiore Hosp., 732 F.2d              
          1572, 1577, 221 USPQ 929, 933 (Fed. Cir. 1984).  These showings             
          by the examiner are an essential part of complying with the                 
          burden of presenting a prima facie case of obviousness.  Note In            
          re Oetiker, 977 F.2d 1443, 1445, 24 USPQ2d 1443, 1444 (Fed. Cir.            
          1992).  If that burden is met, the burden then shifts to the                
          applicant to overcome the prima facie case with argument and/or             
          evidence.  Obviousness is then determined on the basis of the               
          evidence as a whole.  See id.; In re Hedges, 783 F.2d 1038, 1039,           
          228 USPQ 685, 686 (Fed. Cir. 1986); In re Piasecki, 745 F.2d                
          1468, 1472, 223 USPQ 785, 788 (Fed. Cir. 1984); and In re                   
          Rinehart, 531 F.2d 1048, 1052, 189 USPQ 143, 147 (CCPA 1976).               
               The examiner's position (answer, page 4) is that “West                 
          differs from the instant claimed invention as follows: (1) West             
          fails to teach the use of power lines as the communication medium           
          for each of the branches and (2) West fails to teach the use of             
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