Appeal No. 2002-2317
Application No. 09/025,607
456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955). Thus, EP ‘082 would have
fairly suggested the use of a minor amount of acidic copolymer to
one of ordinary skill in the art.
Accordingly, we affirm the rejection of claims 45 and 46
over EP ‘082.
Claim 47
EP ‘082 discloses a method for producing a hot-melt adhesive
having excellent adhesion (page 8), comprising providing an
acidic copolymer or terpolymer, which reasonably appears to be a
hot-melt adhesive, and blending therewith a basic polymer or
copolymer, derived from 100% basic monomers, in an amount
sufficient to neutralize at least 5 mol% of the free carboxyl
groups in the acidic copolymer or terpolymer (pages 2 and 6-7).
The appellants argue that EP ‘082 does not teach or suggest
general methods for improving the cohesive strength of acidic
hot-melt adhesives (brief, page 20). This argument is not well
taken because the particular method claimed in the appellants’
claim 47 would have been fairly suggested to one of ordinary
skill in the art by the EP ‘082 disclosure set forth in the
preceding paragraph.
Hence, we affirm the rejection of claims 47 and 48 over
EP ‘082.
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