Appeal No. 2006-2648 Page 11
Application No. 09/788,387
B. CLAIM 16
The examiner finds, "Sato discloses that upon capture of the image, the
thumbnail image is displayed in the selected position. Therefore, the user's instruction
is . . . the user's depression of the shutter button in the operation section (12) (col. 3,
lines 49-51) during acquisition of the image." (Examiner's Answer at 9.) The appellants
argue that "in contrast to Sato, the present invention provides the user the capability of
defining a 'selected position' at which the image is to be placed based on 'a user's
instruction' after 'acquiring the image from the image acquisition device.''' (Reply Br. at
6.)
In addressing the point of contention, the Board conducts a two-step analysis.
First, we construe the claim at issue to determine its scope. Second, we determine
whether the construed claim would have been obvious.
1. Claim Construction
Here, claim 16 recites in pertinent part the following limitations: "the generated
image data is automatically stored at a selected position of the displayed sequence of
stored image data in accordance with a user's instruction when the image is acquired."
Giving the claim its broadest, reasonable construction, the limitations require inserting
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007