Appeal No. 2004-0645
Application 09/194,968
Like appellants (brief, pages 22-25), we find the examiner’s
position to be untenable since the attachment strips (11) of
Courtaulds absorbent garment are not provided on a first waist
portion of the garment therein, but are instead clearly provided
as part of the crotch part (3) and designed to cooperate with the
complementary attachment strips (12) on the crotch part so as to
allow adjustable fastening of the strips (11, 12) and thus the
leg openings of crotch part (3) about the thighs of a wearer, as
generally depicted in Figure 2 of the patent. Moreover, we share
appellants’ view (brief, pages 25-29) that the strips (7) of
Courtaulds correlated by the examiner to appellants’ claimed
second attachment strip elements do not and can not cooperate for
“releasable attachment” with strips (8) and (11) on the absorbent
garment of Courtaulds correlated by the examiner to appellants’
claimed first attachment strip elements, as is required in
independent claim 1 on appeal, since attachment strips (7, 8 and
11) are disclosed in Courtaulds as each being a hook material
designed to cooperate with a complementary plush pile material to
complete a fastening means for the garment and would thus not be
capable of releasable attachment one to the other.
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