Appeal 2007-2315
Application 10/095,265
recited in claim 8. Curry also does not specify the type of club for which its
grips are intended; thus, Curry does not teach the iron or wood type golf club
of claim 8.
The Examiner contends that persons of ordinary skill in the art would
have had reason to extend the length of the grip to permit golfers to use the
club for different types of swings and when standing in different positions.
The Examiner relies on Herber and Gedeon as evidence of this.
Herber describes a golf club with multiple markings along the length
of its grip to designate different hand grip positions (Herber, col. 3, ll. 22-25;
col. 5, ll. 53-65; Answer 4; Findings of Fact 6, 9). By placing the grip at
different locations along the shaft length, Heber teaches that a single wood
or iron club can be used “to select a long or short shot without changing the
dynamics of the user’s golf swing” (Herber, Abstract; Answer 4; Findings of
Fact 7, 8).
Gedeon describes a golf putter with a long grip which extends “over
substantially the entire length of the straight portion 17 of the shaft[,]”
allowing a golfer to grip the club at different locations along the shaft
(Gedeon, col. 3, ll. 37-52; Answer 4; Findings of Fact 11). Gedeon states
that, by extending the grip, a golfer can hold the grip at a lower part close to
the club head or higher along the shaft depending on the golfer’s body
position when using the club (Gedeon, col. 3, ll. 39-48; Answer 14; Findings
of Fact 12).
The Examiner concludes that teachings of Heber and Gedeon provide
the motivation to have extended the length of Curry’s golf club grip “greater
than 15 inches along the golf club shaft” as required by claim 8 (Answer 5).
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