Appeal No. 1999-0268
Application No. 08/650,608
either unsaturated epoxy monomers or unsaturated acid
anhydride monomers (answer, page 4).
The examiner argues that figures 3-5 of EP ‘280 show a
rubber-like polymer in the form of a network structure in an
amorphous polymer such that the rubber-like polymer partially
encapsulates the amorphous polymer (answer, pages 4-6). The
partial encapsulation referred to by the examiner appears to
be the regions in figures 3-5 where the rubber-like polymer,
which is the dark portion in each figure, partially surrounds
the amorphous polymer, which is the light portion. Even if
the examiner’s argument is correct, for the following reason
it is not persuasive.
The rubber-like polymer in figures 3-5 of EP ‘280 is not
an ethylene polymer, let alone one having units derived from
unsaturated epoxy monomers or unsaturated acid anhydride
monomers as required by the appellants’ claims. The rubber-
like polymer in figures 3 and 4 is a styrene-butadiene block
copolymer, and in figure 5 it is a hydrogenated styrene-
isoprene block copolymer (page 8, lines 36-43; page 10, lines
3-8; page 11, lines 3-8). The examiner has not provided
evidence which shows that if, instead of being a styrene-
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