Appeal No. 2000-1272
Application No. 08/861,095
a biodegradable soluble coating (26).1 Being biodegradable, the binder and the coating
enable the earthen tee to “return into the ground after use by the golfer” ( main brief,
page 2). This action avoids the harmful effect that wooden or plastic tees have on
maintenance equipment such as grass cutting equipment.
Claim 1, the only independent article claim on appeal, recites that the golf tee
comprises “an earthen material; a biodegradable binder material; and a biodegradable
soluble polymer coating having a desired thickness.”
A copy of the appealed claims is appended to appellants’ brief.
The following references are relied upon by the examiner as evidence of
obviousness in support of his rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 103:
Whelan et al. (Whelan) 3,954,263 May 4, 1976
Desmarais 4,014,541 Mar. 29, 1977
Takeno 5,082,264 Jan. 21, 1992
Mang, Michael, et al., “Synthesis and Properties of New Biodegradable Polyesters
Derived from Diacids and Diglycidyl Ethers”, The Dow Chemical Company, pgs 417-
418, May 20, 1997.
The appealed claims stand rejected under § 103 as follows:
1. Claims 1-3, 5, 7, 8 and 17-19 as unpatentable over Takeno in view of
Mang;
2. Claims 9-12 as unpatentable over Takeno in view of Mang and Desmarais;
3. Claims 1-3, 5, 7, 8 and 17-19 as unpatentable over Whelan in view of
Mang;
1 According to Technomic Publishing’s Glossary of Biotechnology Terms by Kimball R. Nill (2001) (see
biotechterms.org), the term “biodegradable” describes “any material that can be broken down by biological
action.”
2
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