Appeal No. 2005-0987
Application No. 09/946,049
DISCUSSION
Pfefferkorn discloses a closure cap for containers, e.g.,
beverage containers, having mouths with external threads. The
cap, which is made of plastic, comprises an upper base 1, a
cylindrical wall 2 depending downwardly from the upper base, a
thread 13 on the inner surface of the cylindrical wall and a
plurality of axially extending ribs on the outer surface of the
cylindrical wall (see Figures 1 and 3).
As indicated above, independent claims 11 and 20 stand
rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) as being anticipated by
Pfefferkorn. Anticipation, of course, is established only when a
single prior art reference discloses, expressly or under
principles of inherency, each and every element of a claimed
invention. RCA Corp. v. Applied Digital Data Sys., Inc., 730
F.2d 1440, 1444, 221 USPQ 385, 388 (Fed. Cir. 1984). In other
words, there must be no difference between the claimed invention
and the reference disclosure, as viewed by a person of ordinary
skill in the field of the invention. Scripps Clinic & Research
Found. v. Genentech Inc., 927 F.2d 1565, 1576, 18 USPQ2d 1001,
1010 (Fed. Cir. 1991).
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