Appeal No. 95-0876
Application 08/006,517
rejection of these claims will not be sustained. Additionally, we will enter a rejection of
claims under 37 CFR § 1.196(b).
It is our finding that the Esmay disclosure is directed to a removable pressure-
sensitive adhesive tape which has an alkyl acrylate polymer which is sufficiently low-tack
so that it is readily peelable from applied substrates after prolonged dwell time. The
adhesive coating provides effective adhesion to a substrate of paper, metal, glass, plastic
or painted surfaces. Column 2, lines 23-25. The double-coated tape may be readily and
cleanly removed both from the object being mounted and from the substrate to which the
object is mounted. Column 2, lines 34-37. Thus we concur in the examiner’s finding that
the adhesive disclosed in Esmay is of the repositionable type. While the tape in Esmay
provides sufficient adhesive properties, it is noted that since the adhesives are cured by
photopolymerization, the adhesive will not self adhere when the tape is rolled up in a spiral
fashion. According to Esmay, this provides a distinctive advantage in that the double-
coated tape of the invention can be wound directly upon itself for storage and shipment
without any need for a disposable liner. Column 2, lines 42-44. Inasmuch as Esmay
purposely dispenses with the removable liner, as it is unnecessary given his adhesive
composition, we are in agreement with the appellants that it would not have been obvious
to apply a removable liner to the tape of Esmay when rolled for dispensing and shipment.
While we are in agreement with the examiner that obviousness is not determined solely on
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