Appeal No. 2004-2085
Application 09/272,542
the exposure time; in other claims the orders specify a price.
As a matter of claim interpretation, while an "order" covers both
"buy" and "sell" orders, an "order" is met by either a "buy"
order or a "sell" order for purposes of applying prior art; of
course, if the "order" is a "sell" order, the "contra-side order"
is a "buy" order. "Responses" to the orders specify a price and
a quantity; in other claims the responses may specify a relative
price with a price improvement. Financial terms have specialized
meanings in the art,3 but we agree with the examiner that to the
extent there may be a broader general definition, the broadest
reasonable interpretation controls. The examiner's dictionary
definition of "order" as a "commission or instruction to buy,
sell or supply something" is consistent with the meaning in the
art, which is an "[i]nstruction to a broker/dealer to buy, sell,
deliver, or receive securities or commodities that commits the
issuer of the 'order' to the terms specified." See Glossary at
"http://biz.yahoo.com." A "bid" is "[t]he price a potential
buyer is willing to pay for a security." Id. The "ask" is "the
lowest price an investor will accept to sell a stock .... [A]lso
called the offer price." Id. An "offering" is the first sale of
stocks or bonds to the public. Id. Thus, the "bid" and "offer"
3 At the oral hearing, appellants provided a number of
definitions from different sources for the terms "bid," "offer,"
and "order." These definitions are not part of the record. It
would have been more constructive to present these definitions to
the examiner.
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