Ex Parte Fraser et al - Page 5

                Appeal 2007-0251                                                                              
                Application 10/085,310                                                                        

                Brief, but states that processing unit 110 can be “a handheld computer, a                     
                handheld personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless mobile phone, a pager,                  
                or any other such device.”  The specification thus provides a list of four                    
                things that processing unit 110 may be, and then teaches that the unit is not                 
                limited to the four examples.                                                                 
                      Our reviewing court has repeatedly warned against confining the                         
                claims to specific embodiments described in the specification.  Phillips v.                   
                AWH Corp., 415 F.3d 1303, 1323, 75 USPQ2d 1321, 1334 (Fed. Cir. 2005)                         
                (en banc).  We are not persuaded that the specification provides a useful                     
                definition for “handheld computing device.”                                                   
                      Appellants submit the alternative argument that the artisan would                       
                have understood the term “handheld computing device” to exclude the                           
                structures described by Moriconi.  In support of that view, Appellants refer                  
                to two papers attached to the Brief in the Evidence Appendix.                                 
                      One piece of evidence appears to be a printed copy from the Web                         
                page “SearchMobileComputing.com,” addressing the word “handheld.”  The                        
                paper states that a handheld computer “is a computer that can conveniently                    
                be stored in a pocket (of sufficient size) and used while you’re holding it.”                 
                The next sentence indicates that “handheld computer” and “PDA” are                            
                synonymous -- i.e., “Today’s handheld computers, which are also called                        
                personal digital assistants (PDAs) . . . .”  That sentence, however, is contrary              
                to Appellants’ specification (¶ 22), which teaches that a handheld computer                   
                is distinct from a PDA.                                                                       




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