Appeal No. 96-0501
Application 08/101,499
resin capable of forming a film” and meeting the requirements of
being capable of (1) being sealed and (2) maintaining an internal
vacuum for a sufficient length of time (col. 3, lines 48 to 55
and col. 4, lines 1 to 14). We take official notice of the fact 2
that most plastic bags on the market for trash, storage, etc. are
made of biodegradable materials, and refer again to Starcevich’s
disclosure of the desirability of making packaging materials out
of a water-soluble biodegradable substance. In addition to these
suggestions in the prior art, it is a matter of common knowledge
in this time of heightened environmental consciousness that it is
desirable, whenever possible, to make items which will ultimately
be disposed of out of biodegradable materials. The question of
obviousness cannot be determined in a vacuum, but rather those
skilled in the art must be presumed to know something about the
art apart from what the references disclose, In re Jacoby, 309
F.2d 513, 516, 135 USPQ 317, 319 (CCPA 1962), and obviousness may
be based on common knowledge and the common sense of one of
ordinary skill in the art, without any specific hint or
suggestion in a particular reference. In re Bozek, 416 F.2d
1385, 1390, 163 USPQ 545, 549 (CCPA 1969). Accordingly, we
consider that one of ordinary skill in the art would have found
2See In re Ahlert, 424 F.2d 1088, 1091-1092, 165 USPQ 418,
420-21 (CCPA 1970).
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