Appeal No. 95-4359 Page 7
Application No. 08/041,190
examiner's determination, Nawata at page 1, lines 81-85, does not
disclose a film having 50 micron diameter perforations. Nawata
at page 1, lines 81-88, discloses film having openings in the
"range of 0.01-50 microns, and a distance across the short axis
is less than 2 microns." Thus, Nawata discloses fine slits (up
to 2 microns wide by 50 microns long), not 50 micron diameter
perforations. Thus, the examiner has not established the
obviousness of the perforations in the polymeric film having a
mean diameter of 20 to 100 microns.
In summary, we see no motivation in the applied prior art of
why one skilled in the art would have modified the device of
Isaka to make the modifications necessary to arrive at the
claimed invention. Thus, the examiner has failed to meet the
initial burden of presenting a prima facie case of obviousness. 3
Thus, we cannot sustain the examiner's rejection of appealed
independent claim 12, or claims 2, 3, 5, 6 and 9 through 11 which
depend therefrom, under 35 U.S.C. § 103.
3Note In re Rijckaert, supra; In re Lintner, supra; and In
re Fine, supra.
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