Appeal No. 2005-1242 Page 4
Application No. 09/242,014
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). 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."
In the rejection before us in this appeal, the examiner (answer, p. 3) determined
that claim 1 was readable on Widlund as follows:
Widlund discloses a sanitary napkin, as shown in figure[s] 1-6, for wearing
the crotch portion of an undergarment (9). The sanitary napkin has a longitudinal
axis and a transverse axis, and comprises a main body portion having
longitudinal and transverse side edges, as shown in figures 1 and 5. The main
body portion comprises a wearer facing surface (1) and a garment facing surface
(2). The sanitary napkin comprises side wrapping elements (4, 5) that are
integrally connected to the main body portion. The side wrapping elements (4, 5)
are intended to be folded around the edges of the leg opening's of a wearer's
undergarment (9), and are therefore folded along fold lines, as shown in figure 6.
The side wrapping elements (4, 5) are attached to the garment facing surface (2)
of the main body portion such that the side wrapping elements (4, 5) are
predisposed in an in-use position prior to use, as shown in figure 3.
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