Appeal 2006-3341
Application 10/266,491
The Examiner contends that Van Der Meer teaches all of the claimed
elements, except for an enumerated few that are implicitly part of the prior
art, thereby rendering the claims obvious over the prior art. Examiner
presents the Auld reference in support of his taking official notice.
(Examiner's Answer, 3 ff.)
We affirm.
ISSUE
The issue is whether Appellants have shown that the Examiner erred
in rejecting the claims under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a). The issue turns on whether
all of the claimed elements are either explicitly taught by the prior art, as
exemplified by Van Der Meer, or can be officially noticed as described by
the Examiner.
FINDINGS OF FACT
Appellants’ invention relates to the set-top boxes (STB) that have
proliferated along with the number of televisions in our houses. The STBs
typically receive a television signal from a cable, a satellite antenna, a DVD
player or some other audio-visual source and prepare the signal for display
to the attached television of the user. The invention also relates to on-screen
displays, which show text on the screen that may be used for subtitles, or,
along with the user’s remote control, may guide the user in controlling the
functions of the STB or television.
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