Appeal 2007-0504
Application 10/700,078
1325, 1331, 65 USPQ2d 1379, 1383 (Fed. Cir. 2003); In re Clemens, 622
F.2d 1029, 1035-36, 206 USPQ 289, 296 (C.C.P.A. 1980).
We add that Appellants define “scrub resistance” according to the
ASTM Test Method D 2486-00 (hereinafter ASTM) (Specification 16).
Appellants attach a copy of ASTM to the Brief (Appendix C). ASTM states
that the test method measures “the resistance of wall paints to erosion caused
by scrubbing referred to herein as “scrub resistance”” (ASTM 1). ASTM
determines scrub resistance by measuring the “number of cycles” required
for a brush to “remove one continuous thin line of paint film” (i.e., for the
brush to penetrate the paint film down to its underlying substrate) (ASTM
3). The ASTM disclosure demonstrates that it is generally understood in the
coating art that it is desirable to have a coating that resists erosion (i.e., good
scrub resistance). Moreover, from the ASTM disclosure, coatings with poor
scrub resistance would be easily removed by the brush such that a low
number of cycles of the brush would be required to form a “continuous thin
line” in the paint film being tested (i.e., the film would be easily pierced by
the brush). Stated differently, a coating with good scrub resistance would be
“hard” (i.e., not easily pierced).2
Friel discloses that “hardness” is an important physical characteristic
of a coating composition (Friel, col. 1, ll. 39-41). The “hardness” of a
coating is indicative of its “resistance to pressure” and its resistance to being
“pierced.”3 Therefore, it is reasonable to find that Friel’s coating
2 “Hard” is defined as “not easily dented, pierced or crushed; resistant to
pressure; firm and unyielding to the touch.” (emphasis added) Webster’s
New World Dictionary 659 (College ed. 1964).
3 Id.
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