Appeal No. 2006-1354
Application No. 10/337,026
tamper evident seal 42 below the zipper arrangement (Figure 3).
The tamper evident seal 42 is formed by joining the ends 46a,
48a of the wall panels 46, 48 at the seam 70, which includes a
one time breakable line of weakness (col. 5, lines 37-40; col.
6, lines 1-3).
According to the Examiner, Wiley (Figure 3) clearly
anticipates claim 10 because “[t]he first and second portions
46a and 48a meet the recitation of ‘a sealing strip’” (Answer,
page 4).
In response, Appellants argue that:
[i]n the Wiley reference, at the cited
Figure 3, it appears that the web which
forms the walls or "panels" of the bag
(elements 46, 48), after being sealed to the
flanges 60, 66, are folded into a "M-shaped
cross-section" (see col. 5, line 41). It is
respectfully but strenuously submitted that
the sealing of the web material (which forms
both the bag panels and the sealing strip)
to the flanges is directly contradictory to
the language of Claim 10 of the present
application "a sealing strip . . . free of
connection to said first and second flange
portions" [Brief, page 5].
The Examiner contends that Appellants’ argument “does not
remove the fact that the ends 46a and 48a are separate and free
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