Appeal 2007-1715 Page 19
Application 10/033,224
and querying the manufacturer of the articles and containers concerning their
actual weight if the compared total weights are not the same.” Br. 22.
The Examiner contends that regarding “isolating the containers that do not
have the proper postage, such functionality is inherent in the prior art methods
because all carriers necessarily confirm/check the weight/postage/size of the
packages they receive, in order to verify that they have been paid the proper
postage, and identify/return (i.e., isolate) the ones that are found to not have the
correct postage.” Answer 8. Regarding “investigating to determine the correct
weight when an incorrect weight is found, including inquiring of the manufacturer,
determining the correct value when a value thought to be known is
determined/identified as being incorrect, and inquiring of a manufacturer for the
value, as well as pursuing other avenues of investigation, [the Examiner finds]
such functionality is well known, hence obvious, to those of ordinary skill in the
art.” Answer 8.
The issue is whether it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in
the art to isolate containers without proper postage and querying the manufacturer
of the article/container about their actual weight if it is different from their weight
stored in the database.
B. Facts
The record supports the following findings of fact by a preponderance of the
evidence.
1. Packages will not be shipped without the proper postage.
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