Appeal No. 97-3708
Application 08/418,321
Stockum, where dipping alone produces the finished product.
It is error to consider the references in less than their
entireties, i.e., to disregard disclosures in the references
that diverge from and teach away from the invention at hand.
W. L. Gore and Associates, Inc. v. Garlock, Inc., 721 F.2d
1540, 1550, 220 USPQ 303, 311 (Fed. Cir. 1983). Here, we do
not believe the perceived production advantage (e.g., to
facilitate dipping a larger number of forms) proposed by the
examiner as the motivation for using Stockum’s flat forms in
Marx would have led the ordinarily skilled artisan to
disregard the differences in finished products of Stockum and
Marx and assume that Stockum’s
flat forms for producing thin and extremely pliable gloves
would be applicable to the method of Marx, where the finished
product is a multi-layer, reinforced overshoe.
In light of the above, we find ourselves in agreement
with appellants’ position as set forth on pages 5-6 of the
brief that one of ordinary skill in the art would not have
-7-
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007