Appeal 2006-3011
Application 10/123,110
of applying the titanium oxide taught by Bradstreet. The reference also
teaches that the "coatings may be applied to golf clubs by any known means
as, for example, by spraying, painting or dipping"
(col. 1, ll. 58-60). It is reasonable to conclude that titanium oxide applied by
painting or dipping would be iridescent and not almost black, at least to the
same degree as Appellant’s titanium oxide. As for the claimed iridescent
paint having a colorant and an iridescent material, the recited colorant and
iridescent material may be one and the same material. Moreover, we agree
with the Examiner that Bradstreet suggests that the coating comprising an
iridescent material may also contain a colorant (col. 3, ll. 10-12).
Appellant also maintains that Molitor makes it clear that "the
disclosed golf club does not include any substantial metallic basil body, as
employed in the conventional design of Figure 3," and that the entire golf
club head of Molitor is made from plastic layers (page 8 of principal Br.,
penultimate paragraph). However, Molitor is cited as evidence for the
obviousness of using an iridescent coat comprising an iridescent material on
a golf club head to enhance its aesthetic appearance. We find that one of
ordinary skill in the art would have found it equally obvious to enhance the
aesthetic appearance of golf club heads comprising both a metallic base and
a wood base.
Concerning the flakes of the iridescent material being generally
oriented in a certain direction with respect to the surface of the head (claim
3), or generally oriented in a direction parallel to the surface of the head
(claim 4), or generally oriented in a direction normal to the surface of the
head (claim 5), Molitor teaches that "the flake pigments become generally
oriented parallel to the surface" (col. 6, ll. 1-2), and Appellant's Specification
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Last modified: November 3, 2007