Appeal No. 2006-2581 Page 6
Application No. 10/029,322
as the N+ and COO– groups in a betaine, create a polar region, and a long-chain alkyl
group creates a nonpolar region. Romano’s preference that the R1, R2 and R3 groups
should have a total of 14 to 24 carbons is consistent with the expectation that a betaine
must have at least one long-chain alkyl group to act as a surfactant. Glycine betaine,
on the other hand, lacks a long-chain alkyl substituent. Therefore, those skilled in the
art would not expect glycine betaine to have any significant nonpolar character, and
would not expect it to act as a surfactant.
In summary, the examiner has not adequately explained how the disclosure of
absorbent articles comprising betaine surfactants would have suggested the claimed
absorbent articles comprising glycine betaine. The rejection of claims 1-7, 9-11, 14-17,
20-23, 26-28, 31-35, and 38 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 is reversed.
The examiner also rejected claims 12 and 13 as obvious in view of Mandell,
Romano, and Lorenzi.3 This rejection relies on the same basic rationale as the
rejection based on Mandell and Roman. The examiner cited Lorenzi only to meet the
further limitations of claims 12 and 13. Therefore, this rejection suffers from the same
flaw as the rejection discussed above, and must be reversed for the same reason.
3 Lorenzi et al., U.S. Patent 6,217,889, issued April 17, 2001
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