Appeal No. 2004-0631 Page 4
Application No. 10/236,715
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."
Claim 1 reads as follows:
A fishing rod case comprising:
a plurality of segments, each segment having a connector enabling end-
to-end removable engagement between adjacent segments and a tubular
passageway in axial alignment with the tubular passageways of the other
segments to store a fishing rod;
a plurality of elongated security bars removably attachable in series to one
another and to the segments; and
a fastener removably securing the security bars to the segments and
preventing disassembly of the segments while the fastener is in place.
Sauey's invention relates to a fishing rod case the length of which may be
adjusted. As shown in Figures 3-8, the fishing rod case 28 includes an outer member
30, an inner member 32 and a cap 34. The outer member 30 is an elongated,
cylindrical tube having an outer end 36 and an inner end 37. The outer end 36 is
closed by a cover 38. Attached to the inner end 37 is a collar 44 having an outer end
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