Appeal No. 2003-2038
Application 09/288,833
35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Adams in view of
Cellario and Orchard.
Throughout our opinion, we will make reference to the
briefs1 and the answer for the respective details thereof.
OPINION
With full consideration being given to the subject
matter on appeal, the Examiner’s rejections and the arguments
of Appellants and the Examiner, for the reasons stated infra,
we reverse the Examiner’s rejection of claims 1 through 20 under
35 U.S.C. § 103.
In rejecting claims under 35 U.S.C. § 103, the Examiner
bears the initial burden of establishing a prima facie case of
obviousness. In re Oetiker, 977 F.2d 1443, 1445, 24 USPQ2d 1443,
1444 (Fed. Cir. 1992). See also In re Piasecki, 745 F.2d 1468,
1472, 223 USPQ 785, 788 (Fed. Cir. 1984). The Examiner can
satisfy this burden by showing that some objective teaching in
1 Appellants filed an appeal brief on February 19, 2003.
Appellants filed a reply brief on June 25, 2003. The Examiner
mailed out an Office communication on July 18, 2003 stating that
the reply brief has been entered.
6
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007