Appeal No. 96-2625
Application 08/329,536
transparent, and an adhesive layer (20) on the portion of one
side of the label which lies substantially outside the central
portion, and release layer (12) which is removably attached to
the adhesive layer on the side of the adhesive layer opposite
the label and which has an opening (22) which exposes an
adhesive-free central portion of the label (col. 2, lines 33-
60). Information is marked on the adhesive-free central
portion of the label (col. 1, lines 55-59; col. 2, lines 60-
62). After the marking, the label is fixed to a surface by
removing the release layer and pressing the adhesive against
the surface (col. 1, lines 59-60). Because the marking is
disposed between the article and the label, and thereby lies
underneath the label, the marking is protected from damage
(col. 1, lines 60-62; col. 3, lines 28-29).
Neither Heatwole nor VanErmen discloses printing on the
peelable or release layer as required by step c of appellants’
claim 8, which is the only independent claim.
The examiner argues that “[i]t would have been obvious to
a person having ordinary skill in the art to have provided
reverse image printing on the release liner of Heatwole, since
VanErmen recognizes that reverse image printing on a surface
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Last modified: November 3, 2007