Ex Parte Bouic - Page 6

                Appeal 2007-1677                                                                                
                Application 10/121,491                                                                          

                extending body portion with two differently colored portions and adhesive                       
                on the body portion, where the foam body provides a color contrast “along”                      
                one longitudinal edge to form a continuous sight line.  The language of                         
                claim 1 on appeal includes elongate “striplike” material, exemplified by                        
                Appellant as a “relatively thin” tape where one edge of the tape provides a                     
                sight line (Specification 8:6-22; see Fig. 9 and text at 17:7-20).  We construe                 
                the term “a colour [sic] contrast along one longitudinal edge” to include                       
                color portions on the edge as well as on the top or body portion of the strip                   
                so that the sight line would be “along” the color contrast.  See the                            
                Specification 8:24-29, where it is taught that the “differently coloured                        
                portions may comprise discrete areas of the tape” and be “along” one or both                    
                longitudinal edges.2  Although it is exemplified that the color portion is on                   
                the edge (Fig. 9), we find no express disclaimer of a broader definition.  See                  
                In re Bigio, supra.                                                                             
                       In view of our claim construction above, we determine that Siero                         
                discloses an elongate body of material with longitudinally extending edges                      
                on opposite sides of a longitudinally extending body portion, with two                          
                differently colored portions and an adhesive for attaching the material to an                   
                article, where this material is constructed so that a color contrast appears                    
                along one longitudinal edge to provide a continuous sight line, i.e., the                       
                checkered pattern exemplified by Siero extends to the edge of the striplike                     
                                                                                                               
                2 This comports with the definition of “along” which means “in a line                           
                parallel with the length or direction of” (see Webster’s New Collegiate                         
                Dictionary 32 (G.&C. Merriam Co. 1977).  Thus, we determine that “along                         
                the longitudinal edge” includes lines parallel with the length or direction of                  
                the strip, including lines on the longitudinal edge or on the edge of the top                   
                body portion.                                                                                   
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