Appeal 2007-1593
Application 10/462,972
found in the references, as we “can take account of the inferences and
creative steps that a person of ordinary skill in the art would employ.” KSR
Int’l., 127 S.Ct. at 1741, 82 USPQ2d at 1396. As noted by the Examiner
(Answer 11), Alden evidences that a label or card may be secured on the
exterior surface of a container for shipping or for identification. We further
point out, as discussed above, that Alden teaches that providing a non-
adhesive securement of the identification/address label offers the advantage
that the container can be used hundreds of times or more without the
problem of adhesive labels building up and eventually requiring removal
(Alden, col., ll. 14-15 and 35-55). One of ordinary skill in the art at the time
of Appellant’s invention would have appreciated, first, that a non-adhesive,
reusable label system identifying the owner or recipient of the small totable
products, such as vitamins or pharmaceuticals, or the identity of the products
themselves, to prevent a mixup with the vitamins or drugs of others, would
be desirable and, further, that such a label system as taught by Alden could
be easily implemented on Danielson’s container to permit subsequent use by
other owners or recipients or for different items or drugs for subsequent
illnesses with predictable results. We therefore conclude that providing card
securing means on the receptacle of Danielson is nothing more than the
predictable use of prior art elements according to their established functions
and, thus, would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art.
As for making Danielson’s receptacle transparent, Perrin and Hobbs
establish that the use of transparency for containers for the purpose of
permitting the contents of the container to be seen whether the container is
open or closed was known at the time of Appellant’s invention. The
advantage of transparency is both notorious and technology-independent.
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