Ex Parte Walenty et al - Page 1






                                   The opinion in support of the decision being entered                                
                               today was not written for publication and is not binding                                
                               precedent of the Board.                                                                 
                                                                                    Paper No. 11                       
                               UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE                                               
                                                  _______________                                                      
                                    BEFORE THE BOARD OF PATENT APPEALS                                                 
                                               AND INTERFERENCES                                                       
                                                  _______________                                                      
                                         Ex parte ALLEN JOHN WALENTY,                                                  
                              KEVIN GERARD LEPPEK and DAVID ALAN THATCHER                                              
                                                   ______________                                                      
                                                Appeal No. 2004-1767                                                   
                                                Application 09/976,887                                                 
                                                  _______________                                                      
                                                      ON BRIEF                                                         
                                                  _______________                                                      
             Before PAK, WARREN and JEFFREY T. SMITH, Administrative Patent Judges.                                    
             WARREN, Administrative Patent Judge.                                                                      
                                            Decision on Appeal and Opinion                                             
                    We have carefully considered the record in this appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134, including            
             the opposing views of the examiner, in the answer, and appellants, in the brief and reply brief,          
             and based on our review, find that we cannot sustain the ground of rejection of appealed claims           
             1 through 7,1 all of the claims in the application, under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) as being anticipated         
             by Shimizu.2                                                                                              
                    It is well settled that in making out a prima facie case of anticipation, each and every           
             element of the claimed invention, arranged as required by the claims, must be found in a single           
             prior art reference, either expressly or under the principles of inherency.  See generally,               
                                                                                                                      
             1 See the appendix to the brief.                                                                          


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