Ex parte TOYODA - Page 10




          Appeal No. 1998-2818                                                        
          Application 08/550,521                                                      


          1995) and In re Warner, 379 F.2d 1011, 1017, 154 USPQ 173, 178              
          (CCPA 1967), cert. denied, 389 U.S. 1057 (1968).  In short,                 
          Uni-Charm and Kao, when taken alone, do not provide the                     
          factual basis necessary to support the examiner’s conclusion                
          of obviousness.                                                             
               Concerning the examiner’s position that appellant has not              
          established the criticality of forming the side panels                      
          separately, we observe that criticality is not a requirement                
          of patentability.  See W.L. Gore & Assocs. v. Garlock, Inc.,                
          721 F.2d 1540, 1556, 220 USPQ 303, 315 (Fed. Cir. 1983), cert.              
          denied, 469 U.S. 851 (1984).  We also note the examiner’s                   
          position that appellant’s specification does not mention the                
          advantage of allowing the use of one size body for wearers of               
          different waist sizes asserted by appellant on page 4 of the                
          brief as flowing from the use of separately formed side                     
          panels.  The examiner implies that this is significant.                     
          Assuming for the sake of argument that the examiner’s position              
          that the asserted advantage of the claimed arrangement is not               
          found in the specification, simply because an argument                      
          asserting an advantage of the claimed invention over the prior              


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