Appeal No. 1997-0958
Application 08/300,669
of the reference relied upon by the examiner (col. 12, lines
46-59) it appears that a solution is made for application to
fibers as a surface finish. Also, the examiner does not
explain why the applied references would have led one of
ordinary skill in the art to apply to spandex fibers Schmalz’s
ethoxylated polydimethylsiloxane which is a component of a
composition applied to polyolefin fibers to render the
surfaces hydrophilic.
As indicated by the above discussion, the examiner used
impermissible hindsight based on appellants’ disclosure when
rejecting appellants’ claims as being obvious. See W.L. Gore
& Associates v. Garlock, Inc., 721 F.2d 1540, 1553, 220 USPQ
303, 312-13 (Fed. Cir. 1983), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 851
(1984); In re Rothermel, 276 F.2d 393, 396, 125 USPQ 328, 331
(CCPA 1960). Consequently, we do not sustain the rejection
under 35 U.S.C. § 103.
DECISION
The rejections of claims 10-18 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 over
Hanzel, Ejima, Anderson or Chandler, in view of Schmalz and
Koerner, and under 35 U.S.C. § 112, second paragraph, are
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