Appeal No. 2000-2223
Application No. 09/040,271
In the present case, independent claim 1 is directed to a
jacket of reversible construction having an inner surface and an
outer surface, and visible indicia identifying a sports team on
each surface of the jacket, wherein the indicia on the inner
surface is for a different team than the indicia on the outer
surface. Claim 2 is similar except that the visible indicia
relates to sports players rather than sports teams. We hold that
the functional relationship between the claimed substrate (jacket
of reversible construction having inner and outer surfaces) and the
claimed printed matter (visible indicia identifying different
sports teams or sports players, with each jacket surface carrying
indicia identifying a different team or player) is the sort of
functional relationship that requires the printed matter to be
given patentable weight in that the different sports team or player
nature of the printed matter exploits the reversible construction
of the jacket.
In light of the above, it should be apparent that we do not
agree with the examiner’s position on pages 5-6 of the answer to
the effect that the “visible indicia” limitations of the appealed
claims constitute printed matter limitations of the type that are
to be accorded no weight in determining the patentability of the
claimed subject matter.
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