Appeal No. 97-3926
Application 08/481,091
therefore is reversed as to claim 35 and its dependent claims
36 and 37.
Independent claim 38 calls for the tape to have scrubbing
material and magnetic material on the front side and scrubbing
material on the back side. As evidence of the obviousness of
providing the back side of Nowicki's tape with scrubbing
material, the examiner cites Siddiq's statement that "[t]he
one or more cleaning segments clean the magnetic head, and
other transport components" (col. 2, lines 14-16), which the
examiner construes as "disclos[ing] that Siddiq has scrubbing
material on the back side of the tape due to the fact that
some transport components, i.e.[,] the pinch roller or the
capstan, only contact the back side of the tape" (Answer at
8). We agree with appellants that the examiner is reading too
much into Siddiq's statement, which does not say that the head
and all transport components are cleaned. However, the
examiner's reliance on that statement is unnecessary in view
of appellants' above-noted admission that there is a cleaning
material on the back side of Siddiq's cleaning segments (Brief
at 7, lines 1-4). As appellants have made no other argument
for the patentability of claim 38, we are affirming the § 103
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