Opinion ID: 222190
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Verjinski

Text: The Board affirmed the rejections of a number of claims based on Verjinski, PHASE, A Portable Host Access System Environment 3 IEEE Military Communications Conference 1989, 0806-09 (October 18, 1989) (Verjinski). Verjinski discloses a system for connecting wireline remote hosts with portable computers over a wireless link called Portable Host Access System Environment (PHASE). Verjinski at 806; XXXX-XXXX J.A. 1681. Verjinski specifically contemplated use of the system in sending electronic mail using SMTP between two nodes. Id. The interface between the wireline and portable hosts is called the Portable Host Access Component (PHAC). Id. The system is shown in figure 1: When a user at a portable computer (shown at the top of this figure) wishes to interface with the system, the user dials into the PHAC. The PHAC assigns a temporary IP address to the portable computer and allows the computer to communicate with the Internet. Verjinski explicitly discloses the use of a cellular telephone network to connect the PHAC to the portable computers. NTP argues that Verjinski fails to teach the transmission of electronic mail. NTP also argues that Verjinski's PHAC is not an interface as claimed. It argues that the PHAC does not connect to an RF information transmission network or an electronic mail system, but to a single computer. On remand, the Board must determine whether Verjinski teaches electronic mail under our construction. NTP's remaining arguments regarding the disclosure of Verjinski are without merit. We agree with the Board that the PHAC corresponds to the claimed interface because it connects to more than just a single computer. There is substantial evidence from the reference itself that Verjinski discloses that the design of the PHAC allows eight [] connections to portable hosts. XXXX-XXXX J.A. 80. These portable hosts can amount to an electronic mail system under our construction from NTP assuming that they transmit electronic mail as construed herein. Thus, the PHAC of Verjinski satisfies the claimed interface limitation. The claims at issue also require that the system transmit originated information over both the RF network and over a wireline network. Specifically, claim 1 of the '670 patent requires that: other originated information originating from one of the originating processors is transmitted ... without using the RF information transmission network to at least one of the destination processors. Although Verjinski does not disclose communication without using the RF link, the Board held that [i]t is rudimentary and mere common sense that if a remote host has reason to communicate with a user who is using a portable computer, it may similarly have reason to communicate with a user who is operating a wirelined computer. XXXX-XXXX J.A. 84. If we agree with the PTO, this limitation of the claims is essentially irrelevant because any computer user may want to transmit to both wireline and wireless nodes. For other references discussed below, such as Perkins, the Board found it necessary to combine with a reference like Hortensius to teach this limitation. The same logic should apply to Verjinski. While this limitation might have been obvious over Verjinski in view of another reference, we cannot agree that it would have been obvious over Verjinski alone. Thus, the Board erred in this holding.