Appeal 2007-1906
Application 11/127,887
There is no teaching or suggestion in Freedman that the
term "propylene copolymers" as used therein includes the
copolymers known in the art as "ethylene copolymers." In fact,
it should be clear from a reading of the entire Freedman
specification that the term "propylene copolymers does not
include ethylene copolymers". For example, Freedman teaches
that the first skin layer consists essentially of at least one
polyolefin having a density of about 0.940 g/cm2 or less, and
such polyethylenes generally are referred to in the art as low
density or medium density polyethylenes. Column 5, lines 43-
48. Low density polyethylenes, such as linear low density
polyethylene (LLDPE) are known in the art to be copolymers of
ethylene and a lesser amount of an alpha olefin containing from
3 to 20 carbon atoms. See, for example, Encyclopedia of
Polymer of Science and Technology, Volume 2, pages 441-442,
John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2003, Attachment A, and the patents
cited by Freedman in column 5, lines 54-55 which describe
processes for preparing low density polyethylenes which are
ethylene copolymers. Accordingly, Freedman makes a clear
distinction between "propylene copolymers" and low density
polyethylenes.
Since the Examiner has not cited any authority in support
of his position that the propylene copolymers as described by
Free[d]man would include ethylene copolymers, the rejection of
claims 1-4, 6-8 and 10 should be reversed. These claims are
novel and are not obvious over Freedman.
(Br. 7 and 8).
In other words, Appellant is of the view that the claimed polyethylene
component includes only ethylene/propylene copolymers that require more
ethylene than propylene content whereas the propylene/ethylene copolymer
of Freedman is a copolymer that can include only a lesser amount of
ethylene than propylene. We disagree with this contention.
It is axiomatic that, in proceedings before the PTO, claims in an
application are to be given their broadest reasonable interpretation consistent
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