Ex Parte Jung et alDownload PDFPatent Trial and Appeal BoardDec 3, 201411904016 (P.T.A.B. Dec. 3, 2014) Copy Citation UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARKOFFICE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE United States Patent and Trademark Office Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS P.O. Box 1450 Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450 www.uspto.gov APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO. 11/904,016 09/24/2007 Edward K.Y. Jung SE1-0077C2-US 2154 80118 7590 12/04/2014 Constellation Law Group, PLLC P.O. Box 580 Tracyton, WA 98393 EXAMINER PATEL, NEHA ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER 3686 MAIL DATE DELIVERY MODE 12/04/2014 PAPER Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding. The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication. PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07) UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE ________________ BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD ________________ Ex parte EDWARD K.Y. JUNG, ROYCE A. LEVIEN, ROBERT W. LORD, MARK A. MALAMUD, JOHN D. RINALDO, JR., and LOWELL L. WOOD, JR. ________________ Appeal 2012-004559 Application 11/904,0161 Technology Center 3600 ________________ Before FRED E. MCKELVEY, JEFFREY T. SMITH, and DONNA M. PRAISS, Administrative Patent Judges. PRAISS, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL 1 According to Appellants, the real party in interest is Searete, LLC. Br. 5. Appeal 2012-004559 Application 11/904,016 2 STATEMENT OF THE CASE This is an appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134 from the final rejection of claims 1, 2, 5–7, 10, 11, 14–16, 18, 21–26, 28–32, 34–37, 43–45, 48, 50–52, 55, 59, 61–67, 69–72, 75, 77, 79, 81, and 83–92. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6. Appellants’ claimed invention relates to labeling for medications and other health-related products. Spec. 1. Independent claims 1, 69, and 90 are illustrative (bracketed matter and italics added): 1. A method of marking multiple health-related product components comprising: [a] providing a substance dosage of a medication or other health-related product that is designated for a particular patient; [b] establishing a visual identifier that includes a primary recognizable symbolic aspect intended to facilitate identification of the particular patient based on a cross- reference correlation between the visual identifier and the particular patient; and [c] providing a display scheme for incorporating one or more elements of the visual identifier in association with one or more additional components for use in connection with administration of the substance dosage to the particular patient. 69. A marking system for health-related products, comprising: [a] a substance dosage of a medication or other the health-related product that is designated for a particular patient; [b] a visual identifier that includes a primary recognizable symbolic aspect intended to facilitate identification of the particular patient based on a cross- reference to correlate the particular patient with their respective visual identifier; and Appeal 2012-004559 Application 11/904,016 3 [c] one or more additional components for use in connection with administration of the substance dosage of the medication or other health-related product, wherein each such additional component displays one or more elements of the primary recognizable symbolic aspect of the visual identifier. 90. A kit for facilitating identification of a particular patient from whom one or more substance dosages are designated, the kit comprising: [a] at least one container composed of one or more cover portions and one or more receptacle portions for receiving at least some of the one or more substance dosages; [b] at least one visual identifier integrated as at least one shape of at least a portion of the one or more cover portions and/or the one or more receptacle portions; and [c] at least one cross-reference implementation for documenting association between the at least one shape and the at least one particular patient. The Examiner relied on the following references in rejecting the appealed subject matter: Song US 6,227,371 B1 May 8, 2001 Keene US 2005/0038558 A1 Feb. 17, 2005 Khan US 6,888,095 B2 May 3, 2005 Rines US 2005/0147667 A1 July 7, 2005 Ruben US 7,016,752 B1 Mar. 21, 2006 Kimura US 2006/0177637 A1 Aug. 10, 2006 Chalmers US 2006/0254580 A1 Nov. 16, 2006 The Examiner maintains, and Appellants appeal, the following rejections: 1. Claim 29 stands rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112, second paragraph, as indefinite for reciting “substantially” without providing a standard in the Specification for ascertaining the requisite degree. Appeal 2012-004559 Application 11/904,016 4 2. Claims 1, 2, 5–7, 10, 11, 14–16, 18, 21–26, 28–32, 34–37, 43–45, 48, 50–52, 55, 59, 61–67, 69–72, 75, 77, 79, 81, and 83–89 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 101 as being unpatentable subject matter. 3. Claims 1, 2, 5–7, 10, 11, 14–16, 18, 21–23, 28–32, 35–37, 45, 50– 52, 55, 59, 61–67, 69–72, 77, 79, 81, 83, and 86 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) as anticipated by Keene.2 4. Claims 43, 84, and 85 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over Keene. 5. Claims 24–26 and 75 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over Keene in view of Khan. 6. Claim 44 stands rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over Keene in view of Ruben. 7. Claims 48, 87, and 88 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over Keene in view of Rines. 8. Claim 89 stands rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over Keene in view of Song. 9. Claims 90 and 91 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over Song in view of Kimura. 10. Claim 92 stands rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over Song in view of Kimura and Chalmers. ISSUES Did the Examiner err in determining that claim 29 is indefinite? We decide this issue in the negative. 2 The final rejection does not include a prior art rejection of claim 34. Br. 48; Ans. 37. Appeal 2012-004559 Application 11/904,016 5 Did the Examiner err in determining that claims 1, 2, 5–7, 10, 11, 14-16, 18, 21–26, 28–32, 34–37, 43–45, 48, 50–52, 55, 59, 61–67, 69–72, 75, 77, 79, 81, and 83–89 are unpatentable subject matter? We decide this issue in the negative. Did the Examiner err in determining that the claims 1–2, 5–7, 10, 11, 14–16, 18, 21–23, 28–32, 35–37, 45, 50–52, 55, 59, 61–67, 69–72, 77, 79, 81, 83, and 86 are anticipated by Keene? We decide this issue in the negative. Did the Examiner err in determining that the claims 24–26, 43, 44, 48, 75, 84, 85, and 87–92 are unpatentable over Keene, Khan, Ruben, Rines, Song, Kimura, and Chalmers? We decide this issue in the negative. FINDINGS OF FACT We find that the following enumerated findings are supported by at least a preponderance of the evidence. Ethicon, Inc. v. Quigg, 849 F.2d 1422, 1427 (Fed. Cir. 1988) (explaining the general evidentiary standard for proceedings before the Office). 1. Keene is directed to a system for labeling medication and/or patient specific prescriptions with both graphic and textual information to identify a patient specific prescription, including a bar code system, and information about medications, dosage, amount, directions for a particular patient are in a data unit. Ans. 8, 19; Keene ¶¶ 20, 54, 58–59, Fig. 6A. 2. Keene teaches graphical representation of the medication is provided on the top label and pictograms may be provided on the top and/or side label representing directions that the medication should be taken with food. Ans. 8–9; Keene Figs. 6B, 6C. Appeal 2012-004559 Application 11/904,016 6 3. Keene teaches a schedule describing times and procedures for taking prescribed medications such as time, which medication, and how much of the medication, which may be displayed on a monitor or provided to the patient or caregiver in a printed or electronic version. The schedule utilizes the same graphical representations and pictograms found on the label and together with the label may be used to verify the right medication is taken. Ans. 8–9; Keene ¶¶ 18, 62, Fig. 6C. 4. Keene teaches symbolized pictures or pictograms to depict a method or location of administration of the medication, such as oral or nasal, and other directions, such as taken with food. Ans. 16; Keene ¶ 80. 5. Keene teaches cross-reference information accessible to the patient and caregiver electronically via a network. Ans. 22; Keene ¶ 52. 6. Keene also teaches primary and secondary symbolic aspects that visually identify a substance dosage and patient. Ans. 20–21; Keene ¶¶ 58, 59, Fig. 6A. 7. Khan teaches suitable additives provided in a coating on a solid substrate, including foodstuffs and pharmaceutical dosage units such as a tablet or pill, that form a dye or chromophore in situ and are edible. Ans. 26; Khan col. 2, ll. 5–20. 8. Kimura is directed to a color ID patterned matching label for affixing to a patient’s drug package to identify the patient. Ans. 31–32; Kimura ¶ 109, Fig. 11. Appeal 2012-004559 Application 11/904,016 7 9. Rines teaches the use of three dimensional shapes as identification that is an integral part of the medication and a supplemental identifier. Ans. 28–29; Rines ¶ 11. 10. Ruben is directed to visually identifying a particular patient having a shared affiliation or grouping. Ans. 28; Ruben col. 3, ll. 4–22, Fig. 4. 11. Chalmers is directed to a display scheme for incorporating a visual identifier as an edible addition to the health-related substance including a color. Ans. 33; Chalmers ¶ 46. 12. Song is directed to a display scheme incorporating a visual identifier as a shape of a container for a substance dosage that is associated with the medication, dosage prescribed, and frequency of application. Ans. 30, 31; Song col. 1, ll. 35–50, col. 3, ll. 45–50, Figs. 1, 2. PRINCIPLES OF LAW The definiteness of a claim under 35 U.S.C. § 112, second paragraph, depends on whether one skilled in the art would understand with reasonable certainty the bounds of the claim when read in light of the specification. Nautilus, Inc. v. Biosig Instruments, Inc., 134 S. Ct. 2120, 2129 (2014). 35 U.S.C. § 101 defines patent-eligible subject matter as “any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof . . . .” The Supreme Court has held that Section 101, although broad, is subject to important limitations. For example “laws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas are not patentable.” Mayo Collaborative Servs. v. Prometheus Labs., Inc., 132 S. Ct. 1289, 1293 (2012) (internal quotation marks omitted). Appeal 2012-004559 Application 11/904,016 8 Under 35 U.S.C. § 102, “every element of the claimed invention must be identically shown in a single reference . . . .” In re Bond, 910 F.2d 831, 832 (Fed. Cir. 1990). Under 35 U.S.C. § 103, the factual inquiry into obviousness requires a determination of: (1) the scope and content of the prior art; (2) the differences between the claimed subject matter and the prior art; (3) the level of ordinary skill in the art; and (4) secondary considerations, if any. Graham v. John Deere Co. of Kansas City, 383 U.S. 1, 17–18 (1966). [A]nalysis [of whether the subject matter of a claim would have been obvious] need not seek out precise teachings directed to the specific subject matter of the challenged claim, for a court can take account of the inferences and creative steps that a person of ordinary skill in the art would employ. KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 418 (2007). ANALYSIS Indefiniteness The Examiner finds that claim 29 is indefinite because the Specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree required by the claim term “substantially” making it unclear as to what is meant by “displaying at least a portion of the symbolic display element that is substantially the same as a corresponding portion of the related symbolic display element” as recited in claim 29. Ans. 4. Appellants contend that the rejection is conclusory, without any analysis or citations. Br. 20. Appellants also include from the Specification Figure 3 as support for the proposition that “one of ordinary skill in the art would understand” claim 29. Id. at 21–22. No further explanation is provided by Appellants as to how Figure 3 depicts or clarifies the term “substantially” as used in the context of claim 29. Appeal 2012-004559 Application 11/904,016 9 We are not persuaded by Appellants that one skilled in the art would clearly understand what is meant by claim 29 in view of the Specification. The portion of the Specification that Appellants direct us to does not address the indefiniteness problem. Instead, Figure 3 includes multiple components of a kit with one or more identifiers on each component. Figure 3, reproduced below, does not indicate the degree to which the identifiers are substantially the same as between the tablet and the serum, the serum and the tester, or the tester and the tablet, each of which include one or more of a star, a triangle, a rectangle, and an alphanumeric expression. Figure 3 depicts a schematic illustration of an exemplary implementation applicable for medical kit components. Spec. 3. Therefore, Figure 3 provides no guidance as to how to measure the degree to which the symbolic display elements are substantially the same. See Ans. 34; cf Br. 21 (quoting MPEP 2173.05 “‘to substantially increase the Appeal 2012-004559 Application 11/904,016 10 efficiency of the compound as a copper extractant’ was definite in view of the general guidelines contained in the specification.” (citation omitted)). The rejection of claim 29 based on § 112, second paragraph, is affirmed. Patentable Subject Matter The Examiner finds that the broadest reasonable interpretation of the steps in independent claim 1 is “mentally deciding what symbol to use” to mark a health-related product component. Ans. 5. The Examiner further finds that the steps “can be just dictating or setting up policy related to identifying [a] person and medication” and a “hand gesture.” Id. at 34–35. The Examiner also finds the marking system of independent claim 69 does not add any physical structure or component and the broadest reasonable interpretation “can be just [an] idea of color co-ordination . . . .” Id. at 35; see id. at 7. Appellants do not dispute the Examiner’s finding of the broadest reasonable interpretation of independent claims 1 and 69. Appellants argue that the Examiner has not made out a prima facie case of unpatentability under Section 101 because the Examiner applied the “overruled machine-or- transformation test” of In re Bilski, 545 F.3d 943, 954 (Fed. Cir. 2008) (Br. 26). Appellants further argue that “the recitations of the claims are not abstract.” Id. at 29. The Supreme Court has not held that the machine-or-transformation test is not appropriate. Rather, the Court explained that it is “not the sole test for deciding whether an invention is a patent-eligible ‘process.’” Bilski v. Kappos, 130 S.Ct. 3218, 3227 (2010). “[T]he machine-or-transformation test is a useful and important clue, an investigative tool, for determining Appeal 2012-004559 Application 11/904,016 11 whether some claimed inventions are processes under § 101.” Id. Appellants do not dispute that the rejected claims fail to meet the machine- or-transformation test. Appellants acknowledge that to be patentable subject matter under Section 101, the claimed subject matter must not be an abstract idea. Br. 28. See also, Mayo Collaborative Servs., 132 S.Ct. at 1293 (quoting Diamond v. Diehr, 450 U.S. 175, 185 (1981)). Appellants’ conclusory statement that “the recitations of the claims are not abstract” (Br. 29) followed by recitation of claims 1 and 69 each concluding with “are not abstract” (id. at 29, 30) does not identify for the Board any alleged error in the Examiner’s rejection. See In re Jung, 637 F.3d 1356, 1365 (Fed. Cir. 2011) (“[I]t has long been the Board’s practice to require an applicant to identify the alleged error in the examiner’s rejections.” (citing Ex Parte Frye, 94 USPQ2d 1072 (BPAI 2010) (precedential))). See also 37 C.F.R. § 41.37(c)(1)(vii) (first sentence). In Alice Corp. Pty, Ltd. v. CLS Bank Int’l, 134 S. Ct. 2347, 2355 (2014), the Supreme Court recently addressed the process for analyzing claims to determine whether claims are directed to patent-ineligible subject matter. In Alice, the Supreme Court applied the framework set forth previously in Mayo, “for distinguishing patents that claim laws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas from those that claim patent-eligible applications of these concepts.” Alice, 134 S. Ct. at 2355. The first step in the analysis is to “determine whether the claims at issue are directed to one of those patent-ineligible concepts.” Id. If they are directed to a patent ineligible concept, the second step in the analysis is to consider the elements of the claims “individually and ‘as an ordered combination’” to determine whether there are additional elements that “‘transform the nature of the Appeal 2012-004559 Application 11/904,016 12 claim’ into a patent-eligible application.” Id. (quoting Mayo, 132 S. Ct. at 1291, 1297). In other words, the second step is to “search for an ‘inventive concept’—i.e., an element or combination of elements that is ‘sufficient to ensure that the patent in practice amounts to significantly more than a patent upon the [ineligible concept] itself.’” Id. (alteration in original) (quoting Mayo, 132 S. Ct. at 1294). The machine-or-transformation test “can provide a ‘useful clue’ in the second step of the Alice framework . . . .” Ultramercial, Inc. v. HULU, LLC, No. 2014-1544, slip op. at 12 (Fed. Cir. Nov. 14, 2014) (citing Bancorp Servs., L.L.C. v. Sun Life Assurance Co. of Can., 687 F.3d 1266, 1278 (Fed. Cir. 2013)). The “prohibition against patenting abstract ideas ‘cannot be circumvented by attempting to limit the use of the formula to a particular technological environment’ or adding ‘insignificant post solution activity.’” Bilski, 130 S. Ct. at 3230 (quoting Diamond v. Diehr, 450 U.S. 175, 191–92 (1981)). On this record, the claims have been demonstrated to be abstract ideas or naturally occurring products. Appellants have not directed us to any inventive concept, let alone one that amounts to more than the patent ineligible concept identified by the Examiner. Therefore we do not find error in the Examiner’s rejection of the claims under 35 U.S.C. § 101. The rejection based on § 101 is affirmed. If prosecution is continued, the Examiner may wish to consider whether the preamble of claim 90 reciting “[a] kit for facilitating identification of a particular patient” amounts to an inventive concept under the Alice framework. Appeal 2012-004559 Application 11/904,016 13 Anticipation Appellants do not separately argue each claim rejected under Section 102 is patentable. Br. 39, 75. In accordance with 37 C.F.R. § 41.37(c)(1)(vii), claims that are not separately argued will stand or fall together. The Examiner finds that each and every element set forth in claim 1 and its dependent claims 6, 21, 77, 79, and 81 is disclosed in Keene. FF1–3; Ans. 8–10, 12. The Examiner finds that Keene teaches marking a container with top and side labels that provide the patient or caregiver with graphic and textual information, including non-alphanumeric symbolic aspects, and the graphic information represents the medication. Ans. 8, 10, 21; Keene ¶¶ 58, 59, Fig. 6A. The Examiner also finds that Keene teaches a data unit uses information for a particular patient such as all medications, dosage, amount, directions, and time and provides a schedule to display administration information. Ans. 8–9; Keene ¶¶ 54, 62, Figs. 6B, 6C. The Examiner also finds that Keene’s graphic information includes recognizable symbolic aspects that are primary, secondary, and tertiary. Ans. 20–22; Keene ¶¶ 58, 59, Figs. 6A, 6B. Therefore, the Examiner has provided sufficient findings based on the cited reference to identify how claims 1, 6, 21, 77, 79, and 81 are anticipated by Keene. The Examiner also finds that each and every element set forth in claim 69 is disclosed in Keene. FF1–4; Ans. 15–16. Appeal 2012-004559 Application 11/904,016 14 The Examiner finds that Keene teaches a system of marking a container with top and side labels with both graphic and textual information where the graphical representation of the medication on the side labels can be identical to the top label and pictograms indicating the method of administration and frequency can be added. Ans. 15–16; Keene ¶¶ 58, 59, 80, Fig. 6A. Therefore, the Examiner has provided sufficient findings based on the cited reference to identify how claims 1, 6, 21, 69, 77, 79, and 81 are anticipated by Keene. Appellants provide repeated quotations of claims 1, 6, 21, 69, 77, 79, and 81 (Br. 34, 36, 37, 41, 43, 45, 47, 50, 55, 58, 59, 69–70, 72), repeated quotations of the Examiner’s entire rejections of claims 1, 6, 21, 69, 77, 79, and 81 (id. at 33–34, 41, 45, 50, 54, 58, 68–69), and reprint figures and paragraphs of Keene identified in the Examiner’s rejections (id. at 35–37, 38, 41–42, 45–46, 51–52, 55, 59, 70–74). However, Appellants have failed to explain how the reference, including the cited portions, does not meet the claimed invention. Appellants assert that they have “shown by direct quotations that [Claims 1, 6, 21, 69, 77, 79, 81] and the cited portions of Keene are very different on their faces.” Id. at 39, 43, 47, 52, 56, 60, 74. On this basis, Appellants assert that claims 1, 6, 21, 69, 77, 79, and 81 are “prima facie patentable over the pinpoint-cited portions of Keene.” Id. at 39, 43, 47, 53, 56, 60, 75. Rather than addressing the disclosures in Keene relied upon by the Examiner, Appellants assert that they have “shown by direct quotations that [Claims 1, 6, 21, 69, 77, 79, and 81] and the cited portions of Keene are very different on their faces.” Id. at 39, 43, 47, 52, 56, 60, 74. Appellants’ Appeal 2012-004559 Application 11/904,016 15 arguments are not persuasive because they fail to establish error in the findings on which the Examiner based anticipation over the Keene reference. Whether claims 1, 6, 21, 69, 77, 79, and 81 read on Keene is precisely the substantive basis upon which the Examiner rejected Appellants’ claims. Appellants have failed to articulate what gaps, in fact, exist between, for example, (1) the emphasized “symbolic aspect” and “identification of the particular patient based on a cross-reference correlation” of claim 1 (id. at 34 (emphasis omitted)) and (2) the Keene reference. Appellants quote the Examiner’s full rejection (Br. 33–34) without further explanation of how the anticipation rejection over Keene may be deficient. See In re Jung, 637 F.3d at 1363 (“whether there are gaps between the prior art and the rejected claims is a substantive issue, and [appellant’s] assertion that the examiner must ‘bridg[e] the facial differences’ between the claims and the prior art begs the substantive question of whether there are facial differences to be bridged.”). A prior art reference does not have to satisfy an ipsissimis verbis test to disclose a claimed element, therefore Appellants’ demand for such an exacting match is not persuasive of error. See In re Gleave, 560 F.3d 1331, 1334 (Fed. Cir. 2009). In the absence of a more detailed explanation, we are not convinced of error on the part of the Examiner in concluding the claimed invention would have been anticipated by Keene. See In re Jung, 637 F.3d at 1365. The rejection based on anticipation over Keene is affirmed. Obviousness Appellants do not separately argue claims 24–26, 43, 44, 48, 75, 87– 89, 91, and 92 rejected under Section 103 are patentable. Br. 39, 75, 81. In Appeal 2012-004559 Application 11/904,016 16 accordance with 37 C.F.R. § 41.37(c)(1)(vii), these claims will stand or fall together with claims 84, 85, and 90 separately argued by Appellants. We have reviewed the Final Office Action and Answer and find the Examiner provided detailed facts and reasons in support of the obviousness determination for each of the rejected claims. See Final 21–32; Ans. 23–33. We have considered each of Appellants’ arguments in support of patentability, but are not convinced of any error on the part of the Examiner for the reasons stated in the Answer (Ans. 23–33). In our view, the Examiner has not relied on unsupported, conclusory statements, but has more than adequately explained the reason to modify Keene (claims 84, 85, see, e.g., Ans. 24–26) and combine Song and Kimura (claim 90, see, e.g., Ans. 32). Appellants have not explained, with any degree of specificity, why the Examiner’s proposed motivation to modify Keene and combine Song and Kimura is not supported by the evidence of record. Nor have Appellants provided a cogent technical explanation why teachings of the Song and Kimura references cannot be combined. Appellants’ assertion that claim limitations are not expressly “recited” in a reference (see, e.g., Br. 78) and argument that absent an express recitation in the prior art additional evidence the claims are prima facie patentable over the secondary reference (see, e.g., Br. 79–80) does not indicate lack of prima facie obviousness, but, rather, “begs the substantive question of whether there are facial differences to be bridged.” See In re Jung, 637 F.3d at 1363. In the absence of a technical explanation distinguishing the claimed invention over corresponding prior art as identified by the Examiner and addressing the Examiner’s reason for combining the references, Appellants have not shown any error on the part of the Examiner in concluding the Appeal 2012-004559 Application 11/904,016 17 claimed invention would have been obvious within the meaning of 35 U.S.C. § 103(a). See id. at 1365 (“[I]t has long been the Board’s practice to require an applicant to identify the alleged error in the examiner’s rejections[.]” (citing Ex Parte Frye, 94 USPQ2d 1072 (BPAI 2010) (precedential) (“The panel then reviews the obviousness rejection for error based upon the issues identified by appellant, and in light of the arguments and evidence produced thereon.”)). In sum, upon thorough consideration of the appeal, and for the reasons expressed in the Answer and above, we find a preponderance of the evidence favors the Examiner’s conclusion of unpatentability based on obviousness. Therefore, we affirm the Examiner’s final rejection of the claims under § 103. The obviousness rejections are affirmed. DECISION The decisions of the Examiner to finally reject the pending claims under §§ 112, 101, 102, and 103 are affirmed. No time period for taking any subsequent action in connection with this appeal may be extended under 37 C.F.R. § 1.136(a)(1)(v). ORDER AFFIRMED bar Copy with citationCopy as parenthetical citation