Appeal No. 1997-0870
Application No. 08/333,416
art as a whole to make the proposed combination. See Rouffet,
supra. Any showing of a suggestion, teaching or motivation to
combine must be clear and particular. In re Dembiczak, 175
F.3d 994, 999, 50 USPQ2d 1614, 1617 (Fed. Cir. 1999).
The examiner also states that "Garcia
shows that it is known to use polypropylene core stock for
producing paint rollers" (Answer, page 4). However,
considering the teachings of Garcia as a whole, this reference
teaches the disadvantages of using "a tubular plastic or
cardboard core" with an adhesive (col. 1, ll. 21-41). Garcia
teaches heat bonding the fabric strip to the tubular plastic
core without the use of adhesives to form a single unitary
body (col. 1, ll. 44-59). Accordingly, Garcia teaches away
from the use of an adhesive with a plastic tubular core. A
reference which teaches away is a significant factor to be
considered in determining unobviousness. In re Gurley,
27 F.3d 551, 553, 31 USPQ2d 1130, 1132 (Fed. Cir. 1994).
For the foregoing reasons, we determine that the examiner
has failed to establish a prima facie case of obviousness in
view of the reference evidence of Grodberg, Hielema and
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