Appeal No. 2005-2760
Application 09/915,963
Claims 10, 19, 21, and 23-25 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C.
§ 103 as unpatentable over Wicks in view of Ogot.
Reference is made to the briefs and answer for the
respective positions of appellant and the examiner.
OPINION
Turning, first, to the rejection of claims 2 and 12 under
35 U.S.C. § 112, first paragraph, the examiner contends that the
phrase, “the phase velocity being greater than the speed of
light” “defies conventional theory of physics” (answer-page 3).
If the examiner had a reasonable basis for questioning the
sufficiency of the disclosure, it was incumbent on appellant to
come forward with evidence, if they could, to rebut the
examiner’s position. In re Buchner, 929 F.2d 660, 661, 18 USPQ2d
1331, 1332 (Fed. Cir. 1991).
As a matter of Patent and Trademark Office practice, a
specification disclosure which contains a teaching of the manner
and process of making and using the invention in terms which
correspond in scope to those used in describing and defining the
3
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