Appeal No. 2003-0580
Application No. 09/139,081
monomer containing sulfonic acid groups. Thus one such
modification of a polyamide fiber is obtained by adding a certain
amount of sulphoisophthalic acid prior to polymerization”
(col. 2, lines 50-54).3 Jenkins, therefore, would have fairly
suggested, to one of ordinary skill in the art, incorporating a
monomer containing sulfonic acid groups into Lin’s nylon 6,12
sheath polymer to render the nylon 6,12 cationic dyeable, and
dyeing the nylon 6,12 sheath with one of Jenkins’ acid dyes such
as Acid Blue 277 or Acid Red 361, to produce a dyed sheath having
the desirable properties disclosed by Jenkins, i.e., improved
stain resistance and fastness properties.4 Consequently, the
appellants’ claimed carpet would have been prima facie obvious to
one of ordinary skill in the art.
The appellants argue that “reviewing Jenkins would lead one
of ordinary skill in this art to expect that fibers formed
entirely of the therein disclosed polymeric materials would be
necessary in order to achieve the properties of lightfastness and
depth of shade” (brief, page 7). This argument is not well taken
3 The appellants’ sheath polymer may a sulfonated polyamide
(specification, page 10, lines 11-12).
4 There is no dispute as to whether the dyed fibers would have the
ozone fading resistance recited in the appellants’ claim 41.
5
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