Appeal No. 1997-3609
Application No. 08/483,349
1972).
According to the majority, "one having ordinary skill in
the art would have recognized that the amines are an essential
element in the polyurethane adhesive disclosed in Dormish"
(Decision, page 6). It would be more complete and accurate to
state that the amines are "essential" for obtaining the sag
resistance function desired by patentee. As correctly
indicated by the examiner and not contested with any
reasonable specificity by the appellants, sag resistance is a
property which is not required in certain environments such as
an environment wherein adhesive is applied to a horizontal
surface (i.e., wherein resistance to sag is not necessary).
It follows that in this type of environment, the amines of
Dormish and their function would serve no useful purpose. On
the other hand, the elimination of these amines would have
been motivated by the clearly desirable cost savings
associated with not using such ingredients when their function
is not needed.
Finally, it is appropriate to emphasize that the
examiner's obviousness conclusion vis-à-vis eliminating the
amines of Dormish is reinforced by patentee's discussion of
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