Appeal No. 2006-1179 Παγε 8
Application No. 10/242,532
the specification does not provide a standard for “ascertaining
the requisite degree” and because an artisan would not be
reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. Appellants
assert (reply brief, page 3) that “immediately executing” means
just that, in contrast to an embodiment where the auction waits
for a better priced response or PDI to come along. We agree.
From our review of the specification, we find (pages 6 and 10)
that when a response or PDI meets the terms of the order, the
order is immediately executed and the auction is ended. We find
that “immediately executed” means that the order is executed
without waiting for some other event, such as a buy order with a
better price, to occur. Thus, we find that the term immediately,
as recited in the claims, would have been readily understood by
an artisan.
The examiner additionally asserts (answer, pages 5 and 6)
that the term “sufficient,” as it appears in claims 41 and 53 is
a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. From our
review of the record, we agree with appellants (reply brief, page
4) that an artisan would understand that “sufficiently” refers to
whether the quantity specified by the order is met or exceeded by
the quantity specified in the PDI. Thus, we find that an artisan
would have readily ascertained the meaning of the term
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