Appeal No. 2003-1981 Page 4
Application No. 09/715,684
A claim is anticipated only if each and every element as set forth in the claim is
found, either expressly or inherently described, in a single prior art reference.
Verdegaal Bros. Inc. v. Union Oil Co., 814 F.2d 628, 631, 2 USPQ2d 1051, 1053 (Fed.
Cir.), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 827 (1987). The inquiry as to whether a reference
anticipates a claim must focus on what subject matter is encompassed by the claim and
what subject matter is described by the reference. As set forth by the court in Kalman
v. Kimberly-Clark Corp., 713 F.2d 760, 772, 218 USPQ 781, 789 (Fed. Cir. 1983), cert.
denied, 465 U.S. 1026 (1984), it is only necessary for the claims to "'read on' something
disclosed in the reference, i.e., all limitations of the claim are found in the reference, or
'fully met' by it."
The teachings of Batick
Batick's invention relates to the sport of fishing and more particularly to an
apparatus mounted on a fishing rod in the vicinity of the fishing reel to facilitate holding
and manipulating the rod and reel by a handicapped person. This invention includes a
holding apparatus which can be attached to a fishing rod in generally juxtaposed
relationship with respect to the fishing reel such that a person can insert a hand through
resilient portions of the apparatus to effect a holding action for the rod. The positioning
of the hand in the holding apparatus aligns the thumb of the hand with manipulative
portions of the reel, such as the brake button on the rear of a spin cast type reel. A
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