Appeal No. 1999-1061 Page 4
Application No. 08/568,337
The claimed invention is directed to an improved fishing rod of the type made by
layers of wound prepreg. The overall objective of the invention is to provide a strong,
lightweight fishing rod. As manifested in independent claim 1, the fishing rod comprises a
main layer formed by winding a first prepreg of resin impregnated fibers having a weight
percentage of resin 25% or less with the fibers oriented in an axial length direction, and a
reinforcement layer formed by winding a second prepreg of resin impregnated fibers with
the fibers oriented in a direction crossing the fiber orientation of the main layer, wherein the
reinforcement layer is thinner than the main layer and the resin impregnation percentage of
the second prepreg is substantially the same as that of the first prepreg. The examiner has
rejected this claim on the basis that Lindler shows the claimed fishing rod construction,
except that the claim requires a resin impregnation weight percentage of 25% or less
whereas Lindler discloses 40%. However, it is the examiner’s position that “it would have
been obvious to experiment with the weight percent of the resins to change the physical
properties of the fishing rod” (Paper No. 10, page 2). We do not agree with this
conclusion.
It is axiomatic that the mere fact that the prior art structure could be modified does
not make such a modification obvious unless the prior art suggests the desirability of doing
so. See, In re Gordon, 733 F.2d 900, 902, 221 USPQ 1125, 1127 (Fed. Cir. 1984). The
appellants have found that a resin weight percentage of less than 25% prevents leaning of
fibers, resin pools and resin pool layers which results, in combination with the other
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