[Patentpractice] Help with meaning of English words -- please

[Richard Straussman]

Can't you simply dispense with the issue entirely by replacing 
"adjacent" with the word "abuts" (/i.e./, LS abuts T on a first side of 
T and RS abuts T on a second side of T opposite the first side)?

*Richard Straussman**
* *Senior Counsel*
* Registered Patent Attorney
* Member NY, NJ & CT Bars
*. . . . . . . . . . . . . .*
*Weitzman Law Offices, LLC*
*Intellectual Property Law*
425 Eagle Rock Avenue, Suite 401 (PLEASE NOTE THE SUITE CHANGE)
Roseland, NJ 07068
*direct line* 973.403.9943
*main* 973.403.9940
*fax*973.403.9944
*e-mail*rstraussman at weitzmanip.com

*http://www.weitzmanip.com
*



On 4/26/2024 4:31 PM, Patent Lawyer via Patentpractice wrote:
>
> Friends, Colleagues, anyone:  Help me out please.  It is Friday 
> afternoon, and I am stuck.
>
> 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.
>
> By “directly adjacent,” I mean next to and touching.  It is just a box!
>
> (Aside: I seem to recall a Federal Circuit claim construction of 
> “adjacent” that was effectively transitive – 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 – but that’s an aside.)
>
> 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, _the top side (T) is "on an */opposite 
> lateral/* side" of the box to the right side (RS). _  How is T 
> _opposite_ RS?
>
> __
>
> I'll give the examiner the benefit of the doubt, but I just don’t get 
> it.  What am I missing?  Does the word "opposite" have a meaning that 
> could encompass "directly adjacent" in this scenario?
>
> 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.
>
> Thank you.
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://oppedahl-lists.com/pipermail/patentpractice_oppedahl-lists.com/attachments/20240426/20ccf9c5/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 25454 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://oppedahl-lists.com/pipermail/patentpractice_oppedahl-lists.com/attachments/20240426/20ccf9c5/attachment.png>