Appeal No. 97-1088
Application 08/518,957
The invention pertains to a label having raised rib-like
surfaces to facilitate gripping the object to which the label is
applied. Claim 1 is illustrative and reads as follows:2
1. A container adapted to be gripped in a person’s hand,
the container having a smooth exterior surface and a label, the
label comprising:
a panel member adapted to be applied to a container; and
a plurality of elongated solid beads adapted to be
positioned between the panel member and the smooth exterior
surface of the container in substantially horizontal and
vertically spaced orientations to provide a raised surface for
enhanced gripping of the container.
The reference relied upon by the examiner as evidence of
anticipation and obviousness is:
West 2,051,665 Aug. 18, 1936
Claims 1, 3, 4, 11 through 13, 19 and 22 through 25 stand
rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) as being anticipated by West,
and claims 6, 10, 20 and 21 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103
as being unpatentable over West.
2The following informalities in the appealed claims are
deserving of correction in the event of further prosecution
before the examiner. The term “the bead” as it appears in claims
4 and 13 lacks a proper antecedent basis and should read as --
the beads-- for consistency with preceding claim terminology.
Also, the preamble of claim 11 which refers to a plurality of
“cans and bottles” is inconsistent with the body of this claim
which refers to a single “can or bottle.”
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