Appeal No. 2005-1246 Page 4
Application No. 09/776,147
expressly stated in the references. See WMS Gaming, Inc. v. International Game
Tech., 184 F.3d 1339, 1355, 51 USPQ2d 1385, 1397 (Fed. Cir. 1999). The test for an
implicit showing is what the combined teachings, knowledge of one of ordinary skill in
the art, and the nature of the problem to be solved as a whole would have suggested to
those of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 425, 208 USPQ 871,
881 (CCPA 1981) (and cases cited therein).
With this as background, we first analyze the prior art applied by the examiner in
the rejection of the claims on appeal.
Goddard's invention relates to improvements in artificial bait and has for its object
the provision of a fish lure especially adapted for casting and devised to
resemble a fly or similar winged insect. In carrying out the invention, Goddard employs
a common fishhook having a shank 5, a bill 6 and an eye 7. The portion of the shank
adjoining the eye is supplied with a tightly wound lapping of fibrous material, such
as a thread, suitable to provide an enlargement constituting a head 8 of a fly. This
lapping serves to secure a pair of eyelets 9 to the shank as best shown in Figure 3. The
eyelets are use to connect wings 14. The shank is covered with a body-forming
material comprising a lapping of a filamentous substance 10 sufficient to cause the
completed body to float. The fibrous material may include a tuft or strands disposed
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