Appeal No. 2005-1245
Application No. 09/839,762
independent claim 1 is reproduced below:
1. A powder coating composition comprising:
at least one powdered polymer; and
a metal oxide, wherein the metal oxide has been
size-reduced to a mean agglomerate particle size of
less than about 25 microns.
The examiner has relied on the following references as
evidence of obviousness:
Ettlinger et al. (GB ‘915) 2 296 915 A July 17, 1996
(published UK Patent Application)
Inoue et al. (GB ‘527) 2 311 527 A Oct. 01, 1997
(published UK Patent Application)
The claims on appeal stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a)
as unpatentable over GB ‘527 in view of GB ‘915 (Answer, page 3).
We reverse the rejection on appeal essentially for the reasons
stated in the Brief and those reasons set forth below.
OPINION
The examiner finds that GB ‘527 discloses powder coating
compositions comprising particles of thermosetting resin with
0.05 to 2.0 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the resin
of finely divided hydrophobic silica powder having a number
average particle size of 3 to 10 nanometers (nm)(Answer, page 3,
citing page 2, ll. 15-23). The examiner states that it is
reasonable to conclude that the silica of GB ‘527 is a fumed
2
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