Appeal No. 1998-2057 Page 8
Application 08/331,541
maintain the same swing weight.
Paul is evidence that at the time of the appellants’
invention it was known in the art that a standard set of iron
clubs had more or less standard dimensions, such as, loft
angle, lie angle, shaft length and head weight. For example,
Paul discloses that a standard #6 iron would have had a loft
of 34E, a lie of 60E, a head weight of 262 g and a length that
would have varied depending on the golfer’s fingertip to floor
measurement (pages 291, 347 and 396). On page 363, Paul
teaches that the standard shaft length of a #2 iron would have
varied from 37.5 to 40.5 inches depending on the golfer’s
fingertip to floor measurement and, on page 348, that
customized clubs sometimes varied in length from the
recommended standard length by more than ½-inch. The
reference also discusses the need for custom-made clubs, i.e.,
clubs which differ in length, club swing weight, loft and lie
from the standard club, to suit the unusual physical
characteristics, playing capabilities and/or psychological
need for additional confidence.
Based on our review of Paul, we find that the closest
standard iron club disclosed by Paul to the club defined in
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