<div dir="ltr">Online definitions all come up with "on the other side", "facing" and similar meanings that preclude the adjacent side from being "opposite" the top side. Perhaps worth a call to the examiner to get clarification on what they mean. Otherwise, find some dictionary definitions to include in a reply arguing that the examiner's definition of "opposite" here is contrary to conventional usage. "THE WORDS OF A CLAIM MUST BE GIVEN THEIR \u201cPLAIN MEANING\u201d UNLESS SUCH MEANING IS INCONSISTENT WITH THE SPECIFICATION" (MPEP 2111(I)).<div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;letter-spacing:0.1px">-Jeff </span><div><br style="font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;letter-spacing:0.1px"><span style="font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;letter-spacing:0.1px">Jeffrey E. Semprebon</span><br style="font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;letter-spacing:0.1px"><span style="font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;letter-spacing:0.1px">Semprebon Patent Services</span><br style="font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;letter-spacing:0.1px"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.semprebonps.com/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204);font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;letter-spacing:0.1px" target="_blank">www.semprebonps.com</a><br style="font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;letter-spacing:0.1px"><span style="font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;letter-spacing:0.1px">72 Myrtle Street</span><br style="font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;letter-spacing:0.1px"><span style="font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;letter-spacing:0.1px">Claremont, New Hampshire 03743</span><br></div></div></div></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Fri, Apr 26, 2024 at 4:33\u202fPM Patent Lawyer via Patentpractice <<a href="mailto:patentpractice@oppedahl-lists.com">patentpractice@oppedahl-lists.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div class="msg7257567266666792479">
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<p class="MsoNormal">Friends, Colleagues, anyone: Help me out please. It is Friday afternoon, and I am stuck.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><img width="371" height="213" style="width: 3.8645in; height: 2.2187in;" id="m_15232386035857783Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:ii_18f1c26b9654cff311"><u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></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.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">By \u201cdirectly adjacent,\u201d I mean next to and touching. It is just a box!
<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></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.)<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></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?<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u><u></u><span style="text-decoration:none"> </span><u></u></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?<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></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.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thank you.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
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