Appeal No. 97-0115
Application 08/220,341
material substantially throughout the entire area of
the back [column 1, lines 42 through 50].
Zimmon discloses a hospital gown which can be made as a
front-opening garment (see, for example, Figure 1) or as a
rear-opening garment (see, for example, Figure 6).
Harreld discloses a hospital gown made from a blank
having slits near each of its side edges to form a pair of
integral tie straps 16 (see Figure 1).
Brock discloses a non-woven garment material having a
number of desirable characteristics such as a textile-like
appearance,
a desirable drape, strength, a comfortable feel, abrasion-
resistance and water-repellency (see column 1).
The threshold issue in this appeal is whether Artzt, the
primary reference in each of the appealed rejections, is non-
analogous art with respect to the claimed invention as argued
by the appellants (see pages 7 through 10 in the brief), and
thus is too remote to be treated as prior art in determining
the obviousness of the claimed invention.
Prior art is analogous if it is within the field of the
inventor's endeavor or is reasonably pertinent to the
5
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007