Appeal 2007-1365
Reexamination Control 90/006,595
Patent 6,289,548
I. STATEMENT OF THE CASE
A request for reexamination was filed on April 9, 2003 by patent
owner for reexamination of its U.S. Patent 6,289,548 (the ‘548 patent)
issued September 18, 2001 to John S. Capoccia. The ‘548 patent is
exclusively licensed to TexMaster Tools Inc.
Patentee’s invention relates to patterned synthetic sponges for
painting. More particularly, the invention relates to a synthetic sponge that
has a pattern that simulates a natural sea sponge when creating faux paint
finishes.
As explained in the background section of the ‘548 patent, broken
pattern finishes were popular in the 1930’s. Such finishes were produced by
“sponging” or “ragging” techniques where a sponge or rag was used to
disturb a freshly painted wall to produce a broken pattern. (‘548, col. 1, ll.
21-26).
The ‘548 patent states that sea sponges produce the “most pleasing
specialty faux finishes.” (Id. at col. 1, ll. 42-44). Sea sponges however, are
described as scarce and expensive. (Id.). The ‘548 patent attempts to mimic
sea sponge finishes by using synthetic sponges where material is removed
from the face of the synthetic sponge to create ragged edges. (Id. at col. 2,
ll. 41-44).
There are three independent claims on appeal, claims 1, 8 and 15, all
of which are directed to synthetic sponges having a pattern that simulates a
natural sea sponge when faux painting. Claim 1 is representative of the
independent claims on appeal and reads as follows:
A patterned synthetic sponge, which comprises:
a synthetic sponge formed from an open cell elastomeric
material and bearing a pattern having ragged, torn edges, being at
2
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