Appeal No. 2003-0348
Application 09/567,145
The examiner responds that the claim on appeal is in
Jepson format, and Oehrlein is only relied on to teach what is
admitted as old in the preamble of the claim. The examiner notes
that Besnainou and Sloane teach the making of a sound board
having no more than two layers where the grains are parallel and
run perpendicular to one another for a layered wood string
instrument. The examiner concludes that the “combination of the
references reads on the claims” [answer, pages 6-7].
In addition to the arguments made in the main brief,
appellant responds that the grains of the sheets in Besnainou are
not running perpendicular to each other as asserted by the
examiner. Appellant also responds that Sloane merely teaches
that two-ply plywood is better than three-ply plywood when making
a soundboard for a guitar. Finally, appellant argues that the
modification proposed by the examiner would destroy the purpose
of the Besnainou invention [reply brief, pages 5-7].
We will not sustain the examiner’s rejection of
independent claim 17 or of claims 18-20 which depend therefrom
for essentially the reasons argued by appellant in the briefs.
At the outset, we cannot find any basis for considering the
teachings of Oehrlein at all. As noted by appellant, Oehrlein
relates to the bottom board of a guitar and not to the sound
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