Appeal No. 1996-3817
Application No. 08/180,521
patch for a heat-shrinkable bag, but does not teach or suggest
that the patch comprises the presently claimed inner foamed
polymeric layer. Boyd, on the other hand, discloses a three-
ply
plastic film for use as a trash bag comprising outer
polyolefin layers and a middle foamed layer. According to the
examiner, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill
in the art, based on the disclosure of Boyd, to make the inner
layer of Ferguson a foamed polymeric material for the purpose
of providing the heat-shrinkable bag of Ferguson with improved
structural integrity and tear strength.
The flaw in the examiner's reasoning is that there is
neither a teaching nor a suggestion in Ferguson of making the
inner layer from a foamed polymer, nor a teaching or
suggestion in Boyd that the three-ply plastic film would be
suitable for a heat-shrinkable patch for a heat-shrinkable
bag. In the absence of such suggestion in the applied
references, we must agree with appellant that the examiner's
rationale is based upon impermissible hindsight. As stated by
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