The opinion in support of the decision being entered today was not written for publication and is not binding precedent of the Board. Paper No. 19 UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE __________ BEFORE THE BOARD OF PATENT APPEALS AND INTERFERENCES __________ Ex parte ANDREA MICHALIK __________ Appeal No. 2004-0386 Application No. 09/733,016 __________ VACATUR AND REMAND __________ Before WILLIAM F. SMITH, ADAMS, and GRIMES, Administrative Patent Judges. WILLIAM F. SMITH, Administrative Patent Judge. This appeal involves plant patent Application No. 09/733,016. The question raised in this appeal involves whether evidence of foreign sales of the claimed reproducible plant variety may enable an otherwise non-enabled printed publication disclosing the plant, thereby creating a bar under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b). The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit considered that issue in In re Elsner, 381 F.3d 1125, 72 USPQ2d 1038 (Fed. Cir. 2004), and held in the affirmative. Id. at 1128, 72 USPQ2d at 1041. In so holding, the court stated that “[t]he foreign sale must not be anPage: 1 2 3 4 NextLast modified: November 3, 2007