Appeal No. 1997-3649 Page 4
Application No. 08/432,450
coversheet and the photosensitive layer or between a cover sheet and a barrier layer (page 6, lines 10-
14). While the cover sheet is still in place, the element is exposed to infrared laser radiation in selected
areas. The infrared radiation changes the adhesion affinity of the irradiated portions of the infrared
sensitive layer so that when the cover sheet is pulled off portions of the infrared sensitive layer are also
pulled off (pages 6-8). The portions of the infrared sensitive layer remaining are then used to mask
selected portions of the photopolymerizable layer from actinic radiation exposure during printing plate
manufacture (pages 8-10).
Claim 1 requires that the infrared ablation layer be ablatable by infrared radiation and be
“capable of being exposed to laser ablation”. The Examiner states that the infrared layer of Fan et al.
contains the same components as the infrared layer of Appellant, i.e. IR absorber, radiation opaque
material and the same binders, so it is inherently laser ablatable (Answer, page 6). However, the
Examiner has not taken into account the environment in which the infrared sensitive layer is used in the
process of Fan et al. In the process of Fan et al. laser radiation does not remove material but changes
the adhesion affinity between layers. The presence of the cover layer is necessary to facilitate the
removal of the selected portions of the irradiated infrared sensitive layer bonded thereto. The mask of
Fan et al. cannot be made without the presence of the cover sheet. Therefore, the cover layer must be
in place during laser irradiation of the photosensitive element. However, the cover sheet of Fan et al.
would reasonably seem to prevent laser ablation as laser ablation requires material of the ablated layer
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