Ex Parte Eichmann et alDownload PDFPatent Trials and Appeals BoardJan 13, 201511908092 - (D) (P.T.A.B. Jan. 13, 2015) Copy Citation UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE ____________________ BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD ____________________ Ex parte WOLFGANG EICHMANN, FALKO HEUTLING, KARL-HEINZ MANIER, MARKUS UECKER, and THOMAS UIHLEIN ____________________ Appeal 2012-008733 Application 11/908,092 Technology Center 1700 ____________________ Before PETER F. KRATZ, CATHERINE Q. TIMM, and DONNA M. PRAISS, Administrative Patent Judges. TIMM, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL STATEMENT OF CASE Appellants seek review of the Examiner’s decision to reject claims 9– 19. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. §§ 6(b) and 134(a). We AFFIRM. The claims are directed to a gas turbine component with a wear protection layer having at least three layers. The three layers, according to Appeal 2012-008733 Application 11/908,092 2 the claims, “alternate between a hard layer and a soft layer.” Claims 9 and 17. Claim 17 is illustrative: 17. A gas turbine component, comprising: a main body; a wear protection coating, wherein the wear protection coating includes at least three layers and wherein the at least three layers alternate between a hard layer and a soft layer; and a barrier coat disposed between the main body and the wear protection coating, wherein the barrier coat includes a smooth surface and is resistant to chemical or electrochemical decoating. Claims Appendix at Br. 15 (emphasis added). In addition to rejecting the claims on various grounds of anticipation and obviousness, the Examiner rejects claims 9–19 under 35 U.S.C. § 112, ¶ 2.1 This section of the statute requires that “[t]he specification … conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.” As the statutory language of “particular[ity]” and “distinct[ness]” indicates, claims are required to be cast in clear—as opposed to ambiguous, vague, indefinite—terms.” In re Packard, 751 F.3d 1307, 1313 (Fed. Cir. 2014). Because it is not always possible to define the scope of an invention exactly using the linguistic tools of claim drafting, “how much clarity is required necessarily invokes some standard of reasonable precision in the use of language in the context of the circumstances.” Id. 1 A rejection of claims 9–19 under 35 U.S.C. § 112 ¶ 1 was withdrawn. Ans. 4. Appeal 2012-008733 Application 11/908,092 3 The Examiner determines that “it is unclear what is meant by the terms ‘hard’ and ‘soft’” in the claims. Ans. 4–5. Appellants contend that the terms “hard” and “soft” are used in their “normal, conventional” sense, in which “hard” means “not easily penetrated or not easily yielding to pressure,” and “soft” means “easily penetrated or easily yielding to pressure.” Br. 7. Appellants further cite to U.S. Patents using the terms. Id. We agree with the Examiner’s response to Appellants’ contentions. Ans. 11–13. Further, although Appellants do not provide any evidence supporting their definition of the terms, even taking those definitions as correct, it is not clear to what degree a material must be impenetrable and unyielding to be “hard” within the meaning of the claim, and to what degree a material must be penetrable and yielding to be “soft.” The term “a hard layer” connotes a level of hardness. The term “a soft layer” connotes a level of softness. Under the circumstances, one must determine whether the Specification provides some standard for measuring the degree of hardness and softness. Seattle Box Co. v. Industrial Crating & Packing, Inc., 731 F.2d 818, 826 (Fed. Cir. 1984). The Specification provides no guidance. In fact, the only use of the words “hard” and “soft” is on page 3 of the Specification. Here, the Specification states “[t]he layers 13, 14, and 15 of the wear protection coating may be alternately relatively hard or relatively soft layers, or coats.” Spec. 3: 2–4. The words “relatively” and “or” in the sentence lead to more ambiguity and confusion rather than less. With respect to the rejections under 35 U.S.C. §§ 102 and 103, speculative assumptions would be required to determine the scope of the claim, a necessary step required to evaluate the prior art rejections. In such a situation, it is not appropriate to sustain a prior art rejection. See In re Appeal 2012-008733 Application 11/908,092 4 Steele, 305 F.2d 859, 862 (CCPA 1962) (reversed because § 103 rejection was based on considerable speculation as to meaning of terms of claims and assumptions as to their scope). We, therefore, procedurally reverse the §§ 102 and 103 rejections without reaching their merits. We emphasize that this is a technical reversal of the prior art rejections that is not based upon the merits of the rejection. CONCLUSION We sustain the rejection under 35 U.S.C. §112, ¶ 2. We do not sustain the rejections under 35 U.S.C. §§ 102 and 103, but only because we are unable to reach the merits of those rejections. DECISION The Examiner’s decision is affirmed. TIME PERIOD FOR RESPONSE 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). AFFIRMED lp Copy with citationCopy as parenthetical citation