Ex Parte Gagner et alDownload PDFPatent Trial and Appeal BoardNov 24, 201412741643 (P.T.A.B. Nov. 24, 2014) Copy Citation UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE ____________________ BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD ____________________ Ex parte MARK B. GAGNER, JACEK A. GRABIEC, MICHAEL J. IRBY II, SCOTT H. SCHULHOF, and TRACEY L. WRIGHT ____________________ Appeal 2012-010391 Application 12/741,643 Technology Center 3700 ____________________ Before: JENNIFER D. BAHR, STEFAN STAICOVICI, and LISA M. GUIJT, Administrative Patent Judges. BAHR, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL Appeal 2012-010391 Application 12/741,643 2 STATEMENT OF THE CASE Mark B. Gagner et al. (Appellants) appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134 from the Examiner’s decision rejecting claims 1–17 and 19–26. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b). We AFFIRM-IN-PART. THE CLAIMED SUBJECT MATTER Claim 1, reproduced below, is illustrative of the claimed subject matter. 1. One or more machine-readable storage media having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a set of one or more processors causes the set of one or more processors to perform operations comprising: initiating a wagering game session, associated with a wagering game player account, for presentation of primary wagering game content via a wagering game machine; comparing a plurality of secondary wagering game content, presentable during the wagering game session, to one or more user preferences indicated in a profile for the wagering game player account; selecting one of the plurality of secondary wagering game content based on the comparing of the plurality of the secondary wagering game content to the one or more user preferences; determining a scheduled event that relates to the one of the plurality of secondary wagering game content; presenting a notification message of the scheduled event, on the wagering game machine, during the wagering game session; and indicating, on the notification message, one or more wagering opportunities for the scheduled event via the secondary wagering game content. Appeal 2012-010391 Application 12/741,643 3 REJECTIONS Claims 1–8 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 101 as being directed to non-statutory subject matter.1 Claims 24–26 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112, first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. Claims 1–11, 14–17, and 19–26 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(e) as being anticipated by LeMay (US 2007/0243925 A1, published Oct. 18, 2007). Claim 12 stands rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over LeMay and Chin (US 2006/0218029 A1, published Sept. 28, 2006). Claim 13 stands rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over LeMay and Roemer (US 2006/0019743 A1, published Jan. 26, 2006). OPINION Non-statutory Subject Matter Rejection In contesting this rejection, Appellants group claims 1–8 together. Appeal Br. 1112. Thus, we select claim 1 to decide the appeal of this rejection as to the entire group. 37 C.F.R. § 41.37(c)(1)(vii) (2011). 1 The Answer and Final Rejection (mailed Sept. 2, 2001) both indicate that the “rejection of claims 1–20 under 35 U.S.C. [§] 101 from the previous office action is hereby maintained,” but set forth a rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 101 of only claims 1–8. Answer 4, 5; Final Rej. 2, 3. In the Office Action (mailed Mar. 3, 2011) immediately prior to the Final Rejection, the Examiner withdrew the rejection of claims 1–20 under 35 U.S.C. § 101 from the Office Action mailed October 29, 2010. Appeal 2012-010391 Application 12/741,643 4 Claim 1 is directed to “machine-readable storage media.” Appeal Br. 29, Claims App. Appellants argue that they have amended their Specification “to distinguish between machine readable ‘storage’ media and machine readable ‘signal’ media.” Appeal Br. 12; see Amendment filed June 3, 2011 (amending paragraphs 66, 84, 100, and 101). The Examiner finds that the terminology “machine-readable storage media” covers machine-readable transitory signal media, and that, even with the amendments to the Specification alluded to by Appellants, Appellants’ Specification does not exclude these transmission types from the scope of “machine-readable storage media.” Answer 4. Paragraph 66 of the Specification, as amended, discloses that the wagering game network components can include hardware and machine- readable storage media including instructions for performing operations, and that “[m]achine-readable storage media includes any mechanism that provides (i.e., stores) information in a form readable by a machine.” Paragraph 66 also discloses that “[f]or example, tangible machine-readable storage media includes read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory machines, etc.” and that “[m]achine-readable signal media includes any media suitable for transmitting software over a network.” Paragraph 84 of the Specification, as amended, alludes to certain embodiments in which operations are “performed by executing instructions residing on machine-readable storage media (e.g., software)” and other embodiments in which operations are “performed by hardware and/or other logic (e.g., firmware).” Paragraph 100, as amended, adds that any component of the wagering game device “can include hardware, firmware, Appeal 2012-010391 Application 12/741,643 5 and/or machine-readable storage media including instructions for performing the operations described herein.” Paragraph 101, as amended (with emphasis added), reads: The described embodiments may be provided as a computer program product, or software, that may include a machine-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions, which may be used to program a computer system (or other electronic device(s)) to perform a process according to embodiments of the invention(s), whether presently described or not, because every conceivable variation is not enumerated herein. A machine readable storage medium includes any mechanism for storing information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). The machine-readable storage medium may include, but is not limited to, magnetic storage medium (e.g., floppy diskette); optical storage medium (e.g., CD-ROM); magneto-optical storage medium; read only memory (ROM); random access memory (RAM); erasable programmable memory (e.g., EPROM and EEPROM); flash memory; or other types of medium suitable for storing electronic instructions. In addition, some embodiments may include machine readable signal media, which may be embodied in an electrical, optical, acoustical or other form of propagated signal (e.g., carrier waves, infrared signals, digital signals, etc.), or wireline, wireless, or other communications medium. Thus, Appellants’ Specification defines machine-readable storage media as including any mechanism that provides or stores information in a form readable by a machine. Accordingly, the Examiner correctly determined that “machine-readable storage media” covers a propagated signal, because there are propagated signals that provide or store information that is machine-readable. Although the Specification describes machine- readable signal media as including any media suitable for transmitting software over a network, and labels propagated signals as “communications Appeal 2012-010391 Application 12/741,643 6 medi[a],” Appellants’ Specification does not explicitly exclude such signal or communications media from the scope of “machine-readable storage media.” Rather, paragraph 101 of the Specification appears to identify the propagated signals (signal or communications media) as embodiments or forms of machine-readable storage media, in addition to the various other enumerated forms of machine-readable storage media, such as ROM, RAM, EPROM, EEPROM, and magnetic, optical, and magneto-optical media. Paragraph 66 discusses tangible machine-readable storage media and machine-readable signal media, but does not explicitly indicate that machine-readable signal media are excluded from tangible machine-readable storage media, much less from machine-readable storage media generally. Thus, claim 1 covers subject matter that is not patent-eligible under 35 U.S.C. § 101. See Ex parte Mewherter, 107 USPQ2d 1857, 1862 (PTAB 2013) (precedential) (holding recited machine-readable storage medium ineligible under § 101 because it encompassed transitory media); see also David J. Kappos, Subject Matter Eligibility of Computer Readable Media, 1351 Off. Gaz. Pat. Office 212 (Feb. 23, 2010) (“The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim drawn to a computer readable medium . . . typically covers forms of . . . transitory propagating signals”); In re Nuijten, 500 F.3d 1346, 1353 (Fed. Cir. 2007) (holding that “transitory embodiments are not directed to statutory subject matter”).2 2 As noted in Subject Matter Eligibility of Computer Readable Media, “[a] claim drawn to such a computer readable medium that covers both transitory and non-transitory embodiments may be amended to narrow the claim to cover only statutory embodiments to avoid a rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 101 by adding the limitation ‘non-transitory’ to the claim.” See Answer 5. Appeal 2012-010391 Application 12/741,643 7 Thus, we sustain the rejection of claims 1–8 under 35 U.S.C. § 101 as being directed to non-statutory subject matter. Enablement Rejection The Examiner rejects claims 24–26 as failing to comply with the enablement requirement of 35 U.S.C. § 112, first paragraph, because “there is no mention within the specification of a means for carrying out the claimed functions [of the means-plus-function limitations of claims 24–26 enumerated by the Examiner].” Answer 6–7 (citing Aristocrat Techs. Austl. Pty Ltd. v. Int’l Game Tech., 521 F.3d 1328, 133132 (Fed. Cir. 2008). However, the Examiner’s reliance on Aristocrat to support an enablement rejection is misplaced. Aristocrat addressed the issue of whether the patent at issue disclosed structure that is used to perform the function set forth in the mean-plus-function limitations of the claims so as to limit the scope of the claims to the particular structure disclosed, together with equivalents (i.e., “sufficient disclosure of structure under 35 U.S.C. § 112 ¶6”), to satisfy the definiteness requirement of 35 U.S.C. § 112, second paragraph. Aristocrat, 521 F.3d at 1336, 1338. Sufficiency of disclosure of structure under 35 U.S.C. § 112, sixth paragraph, serves a very different purpose from the enablement requirement of 35 U.S.C. § 112, first paragraph. Id. at 1336. “Enablement of a device requires only the disclosure of sufficient information so that a person of ordinary skill in the art could make and use the device.” Id. When rejecting a claim for lack of enablement, the PTO bears the initial burden of setting forth a reasonable explanation as to why the scope of the claim is not adequately enabled by the description provided in the Appeal 2012-010391 Application 12/741,643 8 specification. In re Wright, 999 F.2d 1557, 156162 (Fed. Cir. 1993). The dispositive issue is whether the applicant’s disclosure, considering the level of ordinary skill in the art as of the date of the application for patent, would have enabled a person of such skill to make and use the applicant’s invention without undue experimentation. In re Strahilevitz, 668 F.2d 1229, 1232 (CCPA 1982). Factors to be considered in determining whether a disclosure would require undue experimentation include: (1) the quantity of experimentation necessary, (2) the amount of direction or guidance presented, (3) the presence or absence of working examples, (4) the nature of the invention, (5) the state of the prior art, (6) the relative skill of those in the art, (7) the predictability or unpredictability of the art, and (8) the breadth of the claims. In re Wands, 858 F.2d 731, 737 (Fed. Cir. 1988) (citation omitted). These factors are illustrative; what is relevant to an enablement determination depends upon the facts of the particular case. See Amgen, Inc. v. Chugai Pharm. Co., 927 F.2d 1200, 1213 (Fed. Cir. 1991). In the case before us, the Examiner asserts that Appellants’ Specification fails to provide a description of the structure or algorithm for carrying out the claimed functions, but does not articulate any findings or analysis, such as by consideration of any of the Wands factors, to show that a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been unable to make and use the claimed invention in the absence of such description in the Specification. Accordingly, the Examiner has not met the initial burden of setting forth a reasonable explanation as to why the scope of claims 24–26 is not adequately enabled by the description provided in the Specification. Thus, Appeal 2012-010391 Application 12/741,643 9 we do not sustain the rejection of claims 24–26 under 35 U.S.C. § 112, first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. Anticipation based on LeMay Claims 9–11 and 14 The issue presented in the appeal of the rejection of claim 9 is whether LeMay discloses a system with a client configured to present “secondary content superimposed over a portion of the primary content to a degree of superimposition in accordance with the comparative importance of the secondary content,” as called for in claim 9. Appeal Br. 15–16; id. at 31–32, Claims App. (emphasis added). The Examiner points to LeMay’s Figures 5A, 5B, and paragraphs 325, 95, 330, and 319 as disclosing this feature. Answer 15, 27–28. More specifically, LeMay discloses that the gaming machine is operable to provide display portions “as ‘pop-up’ windows that overlap or overlay one or more other display portions” and “may include logic that prevents a pop-up window from blocking an important gaming component on the display . . . or from blocking important game information on the display.” LeMay, ¶ 95. LeMay also discloses that the externally controlled interface (ECI) may use “a portion of the display via a sliding window transition, via a swapping of windows transition, via an overlay of windows transition, via a scaling of windows transition, via one or more hidden windows or via any suitable transition.” Id. ¶ 325. Additionally, LeMay discloses that players may provide, or gaming establishments may collect, preference information regarding a player’s interests and gaming activities, Appeal 2012-010391 Application 12/741,643 10 and that advertising for a show may be presented to a player based on information known about the player. Id. ¶¶ 330, 319. The Examiner finds that “[t]he degree of superimposition in LeMay is binary. An ECI that is determined to be relevant and important to a player is presented, whereas an ECI that is neither relevant nor important is not presented to a player.” Answer 27–28. According to the Examiner, “[a]s a whole, LeMay discloses a system in which ECI’s provide players with information that is relevant to them and does not cover more important information beneath.” Id. at 28. The Examiner explains that Appellants’ [S]pecification fails to use the word “degree.” Appellants’ [S]pecification does, however, discuss[] secondary content that is superimposed over primary content in a minimally intrusive manner (e.g., near the bottom of the primary content, partially transparent in relation to the primary content, etc.). (Specification [0039]). Transparency is commonly described in computer programs as a scale from 0 percent to 100 percent transparent. An object with 0 percent transparency is not transparent at all, whereas an object with 100 percent transparency is invisible. Without further limiting the term “degree of superimposition[,”] examiner believes a binary degree of superimposition to meet the requirements of the claim language. Answer 28–29. Appellants argue that “LeMay does not teach a scale of differing degrees of superimposition, only either superimposing or not superimposing.” Reply Br. 8.3 This argument does not demonstrate error in the Examiner’s position, because claim 9 does not require a scale of differing degrees of superimposition. See In re Self, 671 F.2d 1344, 1348 3 Appellants’ Reply Brief does not include pagination. Our page references for the Reply Brief correspond to the order of the pages of the document. Appeal 2012-010391 Application 12/741,643 11 (CCPA 1982) (limitations not appearing in the claims cannot be relied upon for patentability). As the Examiner found, LeMay discloses displaying secondary (ECI) content as an overlay or overlap of the primary display, so long as the secondary content does not block “an important gaming component” or “important game information.” LeMay, ¶ 95. Stated differently, LeMay values all secondary content as less important than “an important gaming component” or “important game information.” LeMay discloses determining the comparative importance of the secondary content in relation to the primary content and, having determined that the gaming content to be overlaid by the secondary content is not “an important gaming component” or “important game information.” (i.e., is not more important than the secondary content), presenting the secondary content overlapped or overlaid (i.e., superimposed) over a portion of the primary content to a degree of superimposition in accordance with the determination that the primary content is not more important than the secondary content (i.e., in accordance with the comparative importance of the secondary content). Thus, LeMay discloses a system with a client configured to present “secondary content superimposed over a portion of the primary content to a degree of superimposition in accordance with the comparative importance of the secondary content,” as called for in claim 9. Moreover, as explained more fully below in our discussion of claim 15, LeMay discloses using a “priority system” to marshal limited presentation resources, and presenting via a sliding or overlay of windows transition, or other suitable transition, the ECI content superimposed over at least a portion of the game interface content to a degree of superimposition Appeal 2012-010391 Application 12/741,643 12 in accordance with the degree of priority (i.e., importance) of the ECI content in relation to the game interface content. LeMay, Figs. 5A, 5B; ¶¶ 44, 325. For the above reasons, Appellants do not apprise us of error in the Examiner’s rejection of claim 9 as anticipated by LeMay. Thus, we sustain the rejection of claim 9 and its dependent claims 10, 11, and 14, for which Appellants do not present any separate arguments for patentability. Appeal Br. 16. Claims 15–17, 19, and 20 Appellants argue that LeMay does not disclose a method as called for in claim 15 comprising a step of “determining that the second presentation priority, for the second content, is greater than the first presentation priority for the first content by a degree of priority” or a step of “presenting the first content superimposed over at least a portion of the second content to a degree of superimposition in accordance with the degree of priority.” Appeal Br. 17; id. at 33–34, Claims App. The Examiner relies on LeMay’s paragraph 44 as disclosing use of presentation priority considerations in making determinations regarding presentation of secondary (ECI) content. Answer 17. Paragraph 44 of LeMay points out that presentation resources for ECI processes, such as available real estate on the display device without interfering with the primary game, are limited, and discloses basing access to such resources “on a priority system configured to maximize an optimal gaming experience for each player.” By way of example, LeMay discloses allotting a portion of the real estate of display 34, the entirety of which was previously occupied by game interface 503, to ECI content 502, and Appeal 2012-010391 Application 12/741,643 13 transitioning the ECI onto the display “via a sliding window transition, via a swapping of windows transition, via an overlay of windows transition, via a scaling of windows transition, via one or more hidden windows or via any suitable transition.” LeMay, ¶ 325. LeMay’s priority system clearly determines that game interface 503 has a higher presentation priority relative to ECI content 502, as illustrated by the relatively smaller proportion of entire display 34 allotted to ECI content 502. Id. Figs. 5A, 5B. LeMay then presents ECI content 502 via, for example, an overlay of windows transition, i.e., by superimposition over at least a portion of primary game interface 503 during the transition. Thus, LeMay discloses presenting the ECI content superimposed over at least a portion of the game interface content to a degree of superimposition in accordance with the degree of priority. For the above reasons, Appellants do not apprise us of error in the Examiner’s rejection of claim 15 as anticipated by LeMay. Thus, we sustain the rejection of claim 15 and its dependent claims 16, 17, 19, and 20, for which Appellants do not present any separate arguments for patentability. See Appeal Br. 18. Claims 1, 2, and 4–8 Appellants argue that Lemay does not disclose “comparing a plurality of secondary wagering game content . . . to one or more user preferences indicated in a profile for the wagering game player account” and “selecting one of the plurality of secondary wagering game content based on the comparing of the plurality of the secondary wagering game content to the one or more user preferences,” as called for in claim 1. Appeal Br. 18–19; id. at 29, Claims App. The Examiner relies on LeMay’s Figures 9A–9D and Appeal 2012-010391 Application 12/741,643 14 paragraphs 233, 237, 262, 330, 247, 257, and 362 as disclosing these steps. Answer 8–9, 30. We agree with the Examiner that LeMay discloses the steps in question. In particular, as discussed above, LeMay discloses collecting player’s preferences and information regarding a player’s interests and gaming activities, and providing content targeted toward a group of players with similar interests. LeMay, ¶ 319. For example, LeMay discloses presenting tournament information to players who have shown an interest in tournaments in the past. Id.; ¶ 262. LeMay also discloses presenting one or more enhanced functions or features of the gaming machine to the player. Id. ¶ 247. LeMay additionally discloses presenting advertising and attract features personalized to an individual player’s preferences, based upon information known about the player. Id. ¶ 330. In other words, LeMay discloses selecting content targeted to a particular player (such as advertising or tournament information) based on whether the content matches player preferences indicated in the information collected for that player, which collected information constitutes a player profile, and presenting the selected content to the player. For the above reasons, Appellants do not apprise us of error in the Examiner’s rejection of claim 1 as anticipated by LeMay. Accordingly, we sustain the rejection of claim 1 and its dependent claims 2 and 4–8, for which Appellants do not present any separate arguments for patentability. Appeal Br. 21. Claim 3 Appellants argue that LeMay does not disclose presenting a notification message “near the primary wagering game content with a degree Appeal 2012-010391 Application 12/741,643 15 of proximity that correlates with the closeness of the current time to the scheduled time of occurrence for the scheduled event,” as called for in claim 3. Appeal Br. 21–22; id. at 30, Claims App. The Examiner relies on LeMay’s paragraph 330 as disclosing this feature. Answer 11, 32. Specifically, the Examiner finds that LeMay’s paragraph 330 “describes advertising for a show providing show times and seat availability” and asserts that “[c]learly this information is provided at a time before the show which would give the player an opportunity to purchase tickets for the upcoming show.” Id. at 32. The Examiner construes the claim term “proximity to be a temporal proximity.” Id. According to the Examiner, “a show that is close in time may be advertised rather than a show that is a month away.” Id. For example, the Examiner points to LeMay’s illustration of advertisement for events occurring at the Casino Players Club on March 21, 22, and 23, and presumes that the date this screen was presented to the player is near March 21. Id.; see LeMay, Fig. 5B. The Examiner’s position is untenable because (1) it is premised on an unreasonable claim construction and (2) it is premised on presumptions of facts not disclosed by LeMay. Applying the Examiner’s temporal proximity construction, the last step of claim 3 would be read: presenting the notification message near the primary wagering game content with a degree of temporal proximity to the current time (or perhaps to the scheduled time of occurrence of the event) that correlates with the closeness of the current time to the scheduled time of occurrence for the scheduled event. Such a step would make no sense. We construe the terms “near” and “proximity” in the last step of claim 3 in terms of spatial location, and note that this construction is consistent with the discussion of “proximity” in paragraphs Appeal 2012-010391 Application 12/741,643 16 11 and 88 of Appellants’ Specification. Moreover, the Examiner does not point to any disclosure in LeMay to support the Examiner’s presumption that the date on which the screen illustrated in Figure 5B was presented to the player is near March 21, rather than a month or more earlier than the indicated event dates, and instead relies on speculation. See Answer 32 (speculating that “[t]he logic in the gaming machine that evaluates the importance of information presumably ranked the importance of events on March 21, 22, and 23, higher than events scheduled for April 21, 22, and 23 or even March 24”). For the above reasons, the Examiner fails to establish a sound factual basis that LeMay anticipates the subject matter of claim 3. We do not sustain the rejection of claim 3 as anticipated by LeMay. Claims 21–23 Independent claim 21 recites a secondary content unit configured to, in pertinent part, determine a degree of closeness of the scheduled time of occurrence to a system time associated with the wagering game session; and present the object in relation to wagering game content with a degree of proximity that correlates with the degree of closeness of the scheduled time of occurrence to the system time. Appeal Br. 36, Claims App. The positions of Appellants and the Examiner are substantially the same as for claim 3. Appeal Br. 23–24; Answer 33. Thus, for essentially the same reasons discussed above in regard to claim 3, we do not sustain the rejection of claim 21 and its dependent claims 22 and 23 as anticipated by LeMay. Appeal 2012-010391 Application 12/741,643 17 Claims 24–26 Appellants argue that LeMay does not disclose “means for comparing a first description of the non-gaming, user preference to second descriptions associated with scheduled events that can be wagered upon” and “means for selecting one of the scheduled events that relates to the non-gaming, user preference based on the comparing of the first description to the second descriptions,” as called for in claim 24. Appeal Br. 24–25; id. at 37, Claims App. According to Appellants, similar arguments asserted against the rejection of claim 1 apply to claim 24. Id. at 25. For the reasons discussed above with regard to claim 1, these arguments do not apprise us of error in the rejection of claim 24 as anticipated by LeMay. We sustain the rejection of claim 24 and its dependent claims 25 and 26, for which Appellants do not present any separate arguments for patentability. Id. Obviousness based on LeMay and Chin Claim 12 Appellants argue that LeMay and Chin fail to disclose a presentation coordinator configured to “present a notification message . . . in proximity to outcome displaying wagering game play elements, wherein the proximity is relative to the urgency of the timing of the upcoming event,” as called for in claim 12. Appeal Br. 27; id. at 32, Claims App. The Examiner’s position in addressing this limitation is substantially the same as that of the Examiner in addressing the similar “proximity” limitation in claims 3 and 21–23. The Examiner’s application of Chin does not overcome the deficiency in the Examiner’s position, as discussed above. Thus, for the reasons set forth Appeal 2012-010391 Application 12/741,643 18 above, we do not sustain the rejection of claim 12 as unpatentable over LeMay and Chin. Obviousness based on LeMay and Roemer Claim 13 Appellants argue that Roemer does not cure the purported deficiencies of LeMay vis-à-vis claim 9, from which claim 13 depends. Appeal Br. 26. Having determined that Appellants’ arguments asserted for claim 9 fail to demonstrate a deficiency in LeMay vis-à-vis claim 9, we likewise are not apprised of error in the Examiner’s rejection of claim 13. Accordingly, we sustain the rejection of claim 13 as unpatentable over LeMay and Roemer. DECISION We AFFIRM the Examiner’s decision rejecting claims 1–8 under 35 U.S.C. § 101 as being directed to non-statutory subject matter. We REVERSE the Examiner’s decision rejecting claims 24–26 under 35 U.S.C. § 112, first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. We AFFIRM the Examiner’s decision rejecting claims 1, 2, 4–11, 14– 17, 19, 20, and 24–26 under 35 U.S.C. § 102(e) as being anticipated by LeMay. We REVERSE the Examiner’s decision rejecting claims 3 and 21–23 under 35 U.S.C. § 102(e) as being anticipated by LeMay. We REVERSE the Examiner’s decision rejecting claim 12 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over LeMay and Chin. Appeal 2012-010391 Application 12/741,643 19 We AFFIRM the Examiner’s decision rejecting claim 13 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over LeMay and Roemer. No time period for taking any subsequent action in connection with this appeal may be extended under 37 C.F.R. § 1.136(a). See 37 C.F.R. § 1.136(a)(1)(iv). AFFIRMED-IN-PART llw Copy with citationCopy as parenthetical citation