Appeal No. 2005-1579 Page 7
Application No. 09/963,625
(reply brief, page 2) maintain that a clear coating is not
necessarily obtained by anodizing, as evidenced by the subject
specification, Korte, Gillich, and Komatsubara.
We do not find those arguments persuasive. Initially, we
note that Korte is concerned with forming and coloring anodized
aluminum oxide layers for structural parts, including means of
transport, and teaches employing a magnesium content up to six
percent by weight in those parts together with using a current
density during anodization that overlaps the claimed range for
producing a porous oxide layer that can be subsequently dyed
(colored). See, e.g., column 1, lines 5-18 and column 5, line 55
through column 6, line 57 of Korte. While Korte does suggest
that the dyes employed therein can be used to cover a pre-dyed
layer, a fair reading of Korte reveals that the anodized layer
need not be colored; that is, Korte reasonably would have
inferentially suggested to one of ordinary skill in the art that
the anodized layer to be colored can be clear as one option, as
would reasonably be expected to be desirable for subsequent
dyeing steps where a reproducible bright color is desired. In
this regard, Gillich expressly teaches in the Background section
of the patent that a transparent and colorless anodized oxide
layer can be obtained using sulfuric acid during the anodization
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