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「引用文献１には、前面は対応する第１の把持先端及び第２の把持先端で終端する構成が記載されていると認められる。仮に、上記構成が記載されていないと仮定しても、引用文献１（特に、段落００４４には、遠位部分の形状は適宜の形状を採用できる点が記載されている。）に記載された発明において、遠位部分の形状は当業者が適宜設計し得るものである。」







翻訳例
 

Reference 1 is deemed to describe the feature wherein the leading surface terminates at the corresponding first gripping tip and second gripping tip. Even if Reference 1 did not describe the above feature, in the invention described in Reference 1 (in particular, paragraph 0044 describes the feature wherein any appropriate shape can be adopted as the shape of the distal portion), the shape of the distal portion can be appropriately designed by a person skilled in the art.






解説

Hypotheticals by the Examiner are common. In this case, the Examiner states that R1 describes feature X. They then entertain the situation in which this is not the case, giving additional information regarding the grounds for the reason for rejection. As such, it is important to remember to express such sentences as hypotheticals in the same manner. The difference in terms of meaning between “Even if Reference 1 does not” and “Even if Reference 1 did not” is subtle but significant.