Appeal No. 1999-2630
Application 08/341,464
could not be wound into a roll without such “thickness
balance.” A cursory glance at Panza’s Figures 1 and 2 clearly
refutes any notion that “thickness balance” is important to
Panza. The further argument that the proposed modification
would not meet the limitation in claim 6 requiring the printed
masking means to extend across the width of the tape is also
unconvincing. Inasmuch as fingerlift strips 20 and 23 extend
across the width of Panza’s fastener tapes, so too would the
printed masking means replacing these strips in order to make
the tapes easier to grasp.
The appellants also submit that
[t]he unobviousness of applicant’s [sic] present
claimed combination is further evidenced by the
numerous efforts of the prior art to furnish improved
easy-start peel tabs, including the efforts by Panza,
and by Cronkrite 4,299,223 of record, and by the
references discussed at pages 3 and 4 of the
specification, namely Reed et al., Karami, Pape, and
Mesek, extending over a period at least from the
early 1970's. Despite those efforts, and despite the
publication of the Imsande patent more than 15 years
ago, and the Cherrin patent more than 18 years ago,
until the present invention no one came up with
applicants’ claimed significantly improved “easy-
start” tabs for diaper fastener tapes. Applicants
supported
this evidence of unobviousness by submitting the
declaration of Thomas L. McLaughlin, one of the
inventors in the present case [main brief, page 22].
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