Ex Parte Lam et al - Page 5



          Appeal No. 2006-1990                                             Παγε 5                            
          Application No. 10/678,231                                                                         

          Inc. v. Rudkin-Wiley Corp., 837 F.2d 1044, 1051, 5 USPQ2d 1434,                                    
          1438 (Fed. Cir. 1988); Ashland Oil, Inc. v. Delta Resins &                                         
          Refractories, Inc., 776 F.2d 281, 293, 227 USPQ 657, 664 (Fed.                                     
          Cir. 1985); ACS Hosp. Sys., Inc. v. Montefiore Hosp., 732 F.2d                                     
          1572, 1577, 221 USPQ 929, 933 (Fed. Cir. 1984).  These showings                                    
          by the examiner are an essential part of complying with the                                        
          burden of presenting a prima facie case of obviousness.  Note In                                   
          re Oetiker, 977 F.2d 1443, 1445, 24 USPQ2d 1443, 1444 (Fed. Cir.                                   
          1992).  If that burden is met, the burden then shifts to the                                       
          applicant to overcome the prima facie case with argument and/or                                    
          evidence.  Obviousness is then determined on the basis of the                                      
          evidence as a whole.  See id.; In re Hedges, 783 F.2d 1038, 1039,                                  
          228 USPQ 685, 686 (Fed. Cir. 1986); In re Piasecki, 745 F.2d                                       
          1468, 1472, 223 USPQ 785, 788 (Fed. Cir. 1984); and In re                                          
          Rinehart, 531 F.2d 1048, 1052, 189 USPQ 143, 147 (CCPA 1976).                                      
                The examiner's position (answer, page 3) is that Nasca                                       
          does not disclose the lens to be made from the natural material                                    
          selected from the group consisting of “diamond, sapphire, topaz,                                   
          beryl, quartz, zircon, and ruby."  To overcome this deficiency                                     
          of Nasca, the examiner turns to Deeg for a teaching of “an                                         
          artificial eye comprising the aforementioned limitation.”  The                                     














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