Appeal 2007-0700
Application 09/159,509
Patent 5,559,995
6. The Examiner rejected reissue claims 10-46, 48-55, 58-68,
84-94, 97-104, and 106-108 under 35 U.S.C. § 251 as being an improper
recapture of surrendered subject matter (Supplemental Answer 2-12).
7. Claims 1-9, 56-57, 69-83, and 105 are not rejected.
II. ISSUES
The sole issue before the Board is whether Appellants have
established that the Examiner erred in rejecting claims 10-46, 48-55, 58-68,
84-94, 97-104, and 106-108 under 35 U.S.C. § 251 based on recapture.
III. FINDINGS OF FACT
The following findings of fact are supported by a preponderance of
the evidence.
A. The Invention
1. Appellants invented (U.S. Patent 5,559,995, Abstract):
A method and apparatus for creating virtual worlds
wherein a user may begin with a database containing a
limited pictorial representation of a desired virtual world
and then edit the database to specify the remaining data
needed to create the actual virtual world. In one
embodiment of the present invention, a database
containing a limited pictorial representation of a virtual
world is communicated to a receiving unit, and a
grouping unit collects various descriptions of the pictorial
representation into selected groups. An attribute
assigning unit then assigns attributes to the groups. The
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