In re NTP, Inc.

The rejected patent claim is one of several that describe a system for sending information (electronic mail) from an originating processor (personal computer) to a destination processor (mobile computer) using an intermediary (radio frequency receiver). Prior art systems required connection to a public switched phone line and were limited by difficulty in locating a phone jack. The Board of Patent Appeals affirmed the rejection, construing the term "destination processor," to mean the "particular end node device to which the intended user recipient of electronic mail has immediate and direct physical access when accessing and viewing electronic mail;" determining that the applicant was not entitled to claim priority; and finding that the claim was anticipated by prior art. The Federal Circuit affirmed. The Board properly relied on the written description in construing "destination processor." Nothing in 35 U.S.C. 301 prohibits an examiner from determining, on re-examination, whether a priority date was properly claimed during the original examination; such a determination was proper in this case because the examiner did not consider priority during the original prosecution. View "In re NTP, Inc." on Justia Law