Appeal No. 2001-1818
Application 09/048,533
onto and adhering to said second side of said substrate, said metallic film being devoid
of defects; and a protective layer having a first side completely covering said film and a
second side facing away from said film, said layer and said film together constituting a
coating at the second side of said substrate that is fluidtight against at least one of
liquids and gases, and said layer: (a) being vaporized onto the film immediately
following vaporization of the film onto said substrate while said film is devoid of defects,
(b) having an affinity for the metal of said film, (c) having a thickness between about
0.5µ and about 1/15,000 mm, (d) being an organic material which is at least one of a
natural resin, a synthetic resin, a natural wax, or a synthetic wax, (e) being substantially
non-smearing.
THE REJECTION
Claims 1-3, 5-15, and 32 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. §112, first paragraph,
as containing subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way
as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor, at the time
the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
We reverse.
DISCUSSION
The present invention is directed to sheet material used for packaging which are
resistant to permeation by gases and fluids. The composite as claimed includes a
substrate, which is coated on one side by a metallic film vaporized onto the surface of
the substrate. The metallic film is then coated by a protective layer vaporized onto the
metallic film “while the metallic film 2 is still intact and devoid of defects” (Appeal Brief,
page 3, line 16).
The Rejection of Claims 1-3, 5-15, and 32 under 35 U.S.C. § 112, First Paragraph
The Examiner states that:
The original disclosure does not provide adequate support for the claimed foil
comprising a metallic film that is ‘devoid of defects’ (as recited in lines 3-4 of
claim 1 as appears on page 1 of the Appendix to the appellant’s brief). While the
metallic film is said to be ‘devoid of scratches and/or other defects’ at one point
during manufacture of the foil (p.6, l. 15-17), it is not certain that the metallic film
2
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