¶ 7.21 Rejection, 35 U.S.C. 103(a )
Claim [1] rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over [2].
Examiner Note:
1. This paragraph must be preceded by either form paragraph 7.20 or form paragraph 7.103.
2. An explanation of the rejection applying the Graham v. Deere test must follow this form paragraph.
3. If the rejection relies upon prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(e), use 35 U.S.C. 102(e) as amended by the American Inventors Protection Act to determine the reference’s prior art date, unless the reference is a U.S. patent issued directly, or indirectly, from an international application which has an international filing date prior to November 29, 2000. In other words, use pre-AIPA 35 U.S.C. 102(e) only if the reference is a U.S. patent issued directly or indirectly from either a national stage of an international application (application under 35 U.S.C. 371) which has an international filing date prior to November 29, 2000 or a continuing application claiming benefit under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121 or 365(c) to an international application having an international filing date prior to November 29, 2000. See the Examiner Notes for form paragraphs 7.12 and 7.12.01 to assist in the determination of the reference’s 35 U.S.C. 102(e) date.
4. If the applicability of this rejection (e.g., the availability of the prior art as a reference under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a) or 35 U.S.C. 102 (b)) prevents the reference from being disqualified under 35 U.S.C. 103 (c), form paragraph 7.20.01 must follow this form paragraph.
5. If this rejection is a provisional 35 U.S.C. 103(a) rejection based upon a copending application that would comprise prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(e) if patented or published, use form paragraph 7.21.01 instead of this paragraph.