Appeal No. 2005-1257
Application No. 10/179,570
specification discloses that sufficient absorption of ink into
the stamp occurs when the stamp is soaked in the ink solution for
as little as five minutes (see page 11 of specification).
Accordingly, since Maracas teaches soaking the same material in
an ink solution for about ten minutes, which is twice as long as
the minimum amount of time disclosed by appellants, it is
reasonable to conclude that the process of Maracas necessarily
allows for a replenishing of the stamp surface after transfer,
particularly since the claimed method only requires two transfers
before re-inking the stamp (see claim 4). Consequently, based on
the close correspondence between the methods of appellants and
Maracas, we find that it is eminently fair to place upon
appellants the burden of establishing that the method of Maracas
does not, in fact, allow for replenishing the surface of the
stamp with ink. Appellants, however, have proffered no such
objective evidence. The Declaration of Dr. Zhenan Bao fails to
address the thrust of the examiner's rejection. The Bao
Declaration is directed to the Everhart process but fails to
rebut the reasonable conclusion that the ten-minute soaking
disclosed by Maracas necessarily results in replenishing of the
poly(dimethylsiloxane) surface of the stamp.
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