Appeal No. 2000-2185 Page 5
Application No. 08/834,777
a statement, even if true, while perhaps pertinent in an
obviousness assessment, is of no avail in an anticipation
rejection.
Moreover, claim 48, and claims 50-57 which depend
therefrom, recite that the stemlike projections of the
plurality of disposable absorbent articles of the package are
"releasably engaged with said disposable absorbent article to
protect said hook material and provide a pant-like structure
before said disposable absorbent article is packaged." We
find no teaching in Roessler of engaging the hook material
with the absorbent article so as to provide a pant-like
structure prior to packaging. Roessler teaches forming the
diaper into a pant-like structure only upon application of the
diaper on the infant (Figure 10). The examiner's implication
on page 5 of the answer that the recitation in claim 48 with
respect to engagement of the hook material to provide a pant-
like structure is directed merely to intended use appears to
lose sight of the fact that claim 48 is directed not to a
disposable absorbent article but to a package comprising a
(...continued)2
reference, and that it would be so recognized by persons of ordinary skill.
Continental Can Co. v. Monsanto Co., 948 F.2d 1264, 1268, 20 USPQ2d 1746, 1749
(Fed. Cir. 1991).
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