Appeal No. 2006-1077
Application No.10/034,907
Hughes for a teaching that the ratio of apertures to thread is a result effective variable that
increases breathability and decreases UV protection with increasing aperture size.
Appellants dispute the examiner’s finding that Edwards teaches a fabric with both
openings and light blocking capability, arguing:
[a]lthough Edwards et al. suggests that the fabric is porous,
Edwards et al. fills the pores or spaces of the fabric with UV
blocking particles and thus the fabric of Edwards et al. loses the
advantages of light transmissivity, visual perception therethrough
and breatheability provided by Appellants’ claimed articles.
Appeal Brief, p. 8. Appellants concede that Wade discloses an acrylic fiber polymer
precursor for use in outdoor fabric applications. Appeal Brief, p. 7. However, appellants
urge that Wade fails to disclose or suggest fabrics having both light transmissivity and
UV light blocking characteristics as required by claim 11. Appeal Brief, p. 7. Appellants
argue that Hughes
fails to suggest the claimed range of opening sizes in the fabric,
the arrangement of groups of threads between openings or the
ability to provide human visual perception through a window
covering panel while blocking Category A and Category B UV
radiation within the ranges or limits required by Claim 11.
Appeal Brief, p. 7. Thus, appellants maintain that even if Edwards were combined with
the secondary references, the present invention would not result.
The examiner bears the initial burden of establishing a prima facie case of
obviousness. In re Kumar, 418 F.3d 1361, 1366, 76 USPQ2d 1048, 1050 (Fed. Cir.
2005). To support a rejection on obviousness grounds, the examiner must provide a
detailed analysis of the prior art and reasons why one of ordinary skill in the art would
have possessed the knowledge and motivation to make the claimed invention. See In re
Kahn, 441 F.3d 977, 988, 78 USPQ2d 1329, 1336 (Fed. Cir. 2006). In this case, the
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