<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
</head>
<body>
<font face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif">Can't you simply dispense
with the issue entirely by replacing "adjacent" with the word
"abuts" (<i>i.e.</i>, LS abuts T on a first side of T and RS abuts
T on a second side of T opposite the first side)?<br>
<br>
</font>
<div class="moz-signature">
<style type="text/css">
span.c16 {color: #800000}
span.c15 {font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 8pt}
span.c14 {color: #800000; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 8pt; text-decoration: underline}
span.c13 {color: #0000FF; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 8pt; text-decoration: underline}
span.c12 {color: #800000; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 8pt}
span.c11 {font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 8pt}
span.c10 {color: #656565; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 10pt}
span.c9 {color: #800000; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 10pt}
span.c8 {font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial}
span.c7 {color: #989898; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 8pt}
span.c6 {color: #656565; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 8pt}
span.c5 {font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 10pt}
span.c4 {color: #656565; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 11pt}
span.c3 {color: #000080; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial}
span.c2 {font-size: 8pt}
span.c1 {color: #0000FF; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 12pt}
</style><span class="c1"><strong>Richard Straussman</strong></span><span
class="c3"><span class="c2"><strong><br>
</strong></span> </span><strong><span class="c4">Senior
Counsel</span><span class="c5"><strong><br>
</strong></span> <span class="c6">Registered Patent Attorney</span><span
class="c5"><br>
</span></strong> <span class="c6">Member NY, NJ & CT Bars</span><span
class="c5"><br>
</span> <span class="c7"><strong>. . . . . . . . . . . . . .</strong></span>
<span class="c8"></span> <span class="c5"><br>
</span> <span class="c9"><strong>Weitzman Law Offices, LLC</strong></span><span
class="c16"><span class="c5"><br>
</span> <span class="c9"><strong>Intellectual Property Law</strong></span><span
class="c9"><br>
</span> <span class="c4">425 Eagle Rock Avenue, Suite 401
(PLEASE NOTE THE SUITE CHANGE)</span><span class="c5"><br>
</span> <span class="c4">Roseland, NJ 07068</span><span
class="c11"><br>
</span> <span class="c12"><strong>direct line</strong></span> <span
class="c6">973.403.9943<br>
</span> <span class="c12"><strong>main</strong></span> <span
class="c6">973.403.9940<br>
</span> <span class="c12"><strong>fax</strong></span><span
class="c12"></span> <span class="c6">973.403.9944</span><span
class="c11"><br>
</span> <span class="c12"><strong>e-mail</strong></span><span
class="c6"></span> <span class="c13"><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:rstraussman@weitzmanip.com">rstraussman@weitzmanip.com</a></span><span
class="c11"><br>
<br>
</span> <span class="c14"><strong><a
href="http://www.weitzmanip.com/"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">http://www.weitzmanip.com</a><br>
</strong></span> <span class="c15"><br>
</span><br>
<br>
<br>
</span>
</div>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 4/26/2024 4:31 PM, Patent Lawyer via
Patentpractice wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:BYAPR12MB4743BB7CFCBADBE1772AABC4A7162@BYAPR12MB4743.namprd12.prod.outlook.com">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered
medium)">
<!--[if !mso]><style>v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style><![endif]-->
<style>@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;}span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}</style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal">Friends, Colleagues, anyone: Help me out
please. It is Friday afternoon, and I am stuck.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><img style="width:3.8645in;height:2.2187in"
id="Picture_x0020_1" data-outlook-trace="F:0|T:1"
src="cid:part1.z9Gp4CPR.yUpS2muy@weitzmanip.com" class=""
width="371" height="213"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The prior art teaches a box, as shown
above. The box has a left side (LS), a top side (T), and a
right side (RS). The top side (T) is directly adjacent to the
left side (LS) and directly adjacent to the right side (RS).
The left and right sides (LS, RS) are on opposite sides of the
box. The left and right sides (LS, RS) have no contact with
each other.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">By \u201cdirectly adjacent,\u201d I mean next to and
touching. It is just a box!
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">(Aside: I seem to recall a Federal Circuit
claim construction of \u201cadjacent\u201d that was effectively
transitive \u2013 X was next to Y which was next to Z. X was not
next to Z. and the Federal Circuit said that X and Z were
adjacent \u2013 but that\u2019s an aside.)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Anyway, in my case, a patent examiner
considers directly adjacent sides of the box to be "opposite
lateral sides" of the box. According to this patent examiner,
<u>the top side (T) is "on an <b><i>opposite lateral</i></b>
side" of the box to the right side (RS).
</u> How is T <u>opposite</u> RS?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u><o:p><span style="text-decoration:none"> </span></o:p></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I'll give the examiner the benefit of the
doubt, but I just don\u2019t get it. What am I missing? Does the
word "opposite" have a meaning that could encompass "directly
adjacent" in this scenario?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you can, please explain (even under some
BRI) how directly adjacent sides of a box (like T and RS) can
be "opposite lateral sides" of the box.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thank you.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<br>
<fieldset class="moz-mime-attachment-header"></fieldset>
</blockquote>
<br>
</body>
</html>