Ex parte DOUGHERTY - Page 6




          Appeal No. 96-3938                                                          
          Application No. 08/288,861                                                  

               As indicated earlier, however, we will sustain the                     
          examiner’s section 103 rejection of claims 10 through 25                    
          since, in our view, Debier would have suggested an adhesive                 
          composition of the type defined by these claims.                            
               In support of his contrary view, the appellant argues                  
          that “[t]he claimed adhesive compositions of the present                    
          invention have been claimed as displaying a range of                        
          criticality of 75 < [S] + [V] < 100 undemonstrated in the                   
          prior art, particularly the Debier . . . patent” (brief, page               
          5).  This argument is unpersuasive.  Rather than attempt to                 
          interpret the appellant’s meaning in his use of the term                    
          “undemonstrated”, we simply point out that the test for                     
          obviousness is what the reference teachings would have                      
          suggested to those of ordinary skill in the art.  In re                     
          Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 425, 208 USPQ 871, 881 (CCPA 1981).  In               
          this regard, it is significant that the content concentrations              
          defined by the independent claims on appeal are disclosed by                
          Debier (e.g., see claims 1 and 3 of the patent).  Moreover,                 
          patentee’s 35% styrene content and his 45% butadiene content                
          satisfy the formula set forth in these appealed independent                 
          claims notwithstanding the appellant’s apparent belief to the               

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