(116)                   Publication of Opinions and Orders
                            Entered by the Board of
                       Patent Appeals and Interferences

   The vast majority of opinions and orders entered by the Board of 
Patent Appeals and Interferences in both ex parte and interference cases 
are non-precedential. The opinions and orders ordinarily contain at the 
top of the first page the following notice:
   
                         THIS OPINION WAS NOT WRITTEN
                                FOR PUBLICATION

   The opinion in support of the decision being entered today (1) was
not written for publication in a law journal and (2) is not binding
precedent of the Board.
   
   The Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences has received numerous
requests that more of its opinions and orders be published. Although the
board itself can, and does, decide that certain of its opinions and
orders should be published, the provisions of 35 U.S.C.    122 generally
preclude, without prior permission of a patent applicant, publication of
opinions and orders not otherwise available to the public.
   Nothing in the notice normally appearing on opinions and orders
entered by the board and nothing in the provisions of 35 U.S.C.    122,
precludes any applicant or patentee who has received an opinion or order
entered in either an ex parte or interference case from publishing that
opinion or order. Opinions may be published by forwarding the opinion
directly to a publisher, such as The Bureau of National Affairs, LEXIS,
and West Publishing Co. Alternatively, any applicant or patentee may
authorize the Patent and Trademark Office to publish an opinion or order
on the Web Page of the Patent and Trademark Office. Those wishing to
authorize publication on the Web Page should communicate that wish to
the Chief Administrative Patent Judge via letter addressed as follows:
   
   Chief Administrative Patent Judge
   U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
   Washington, D.C. 20231
   
   Any non-precedential opinion or order which is published in a law
publication or otherwise or which appears on the PTO Web Page may be
cited to the board, but will not be considered binding precedent. A copy
of the opinion or order should accompany the paper in which it is cited
if the applicant or patentee citing the opinion or order wishes that it
be considered.

November 6, 1998                                       BRUCE H. STONER, JR.
                                          Chief Administrative Patent Judge

                                 [1217 OG 17]