Appeal No. 96-1415
Application No. 08/088,625
We do not consider this rejection to be well taken.
While the Fig. 7 embodiment of Gilman ‘362 does disclose the
direct attachment of dressing component 44 to contact
component 12 by adhesive 46, there is no disclosure that such
attachment is releasable (see col. 4, lines 7 to 10), nor is
it inherent that it would be. As for Gilman’s Figs. 10 to 12
embodiment, the dressing component 76 is disclosed as being
“releasably secured in place over the second vent sheet 68”
(col. 5, lines 43 to 44), but there is no disclosure that it
is directly attached to the vent sheet 68 or either of the
other two parts 28, 84 of the contact component; in all
probability, it would be secured to the patient by adhesive
tape 32, as shown in Fig. 2. Absent an express or inherent
disclosure of the claimed releasable direct attachment, claims
1, 43 and 54, and the claims dependent thereon, are not
anticipated. See In re Schrieber, 128 F.3d 1473, 1477, 44
USPQ2d 1429, 1431 (Fed. Cir. 1997) (claim not anticipated
unless prior art reference discloses every limitation, either
explicitly or inherently). As for claims 66 and 67, there is
no disclosure in Gilman ‘362 of placing a second composite
dressing over a wound over which a first contact component is
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