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Ex parte MULHOLLAND - Page 4
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Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences > 1997 > Ex parte MULHOLLAND - Page 4
Appeal No. 95-0244
Application 08/035,832
oxide. The filler is preferably 1 to 30% by weight of the
total mixture (column 7, lines 22-27). Further, Reske
discloses in column 8, lines 12-22 that the composition may be
processed to form shaped articles such as "pipes and tubes",
which are well known plumbing fixtures.
We agree with the examiner that the composition of
appealed claim 1 consisting of a polymeric acetal and zinc
oxide would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary
skill in the art in view of the noted teachings of Reske.
Appellant urges that the claimed invention is not obvious
because Reske discloses some twenty fillers and in examples 17
and 18 prefers titanium dioxide and silicon dioxide. We
disagree, and point out that Reske specifically discloses and
in claim 8 claims the use of zinc oxide as the filler. Nor is
it necessary for Reske to teach or appreciate the property of
resistance to mineral adhesion because the mere discovery that
the claimed composition possesses a property not disclosed in
the prior art does not alone defeat the prima facie case of
obviousness. In re Dillon, 919 F.2d 688, 693, 16 USPQ2d 1897,
1901 (Fed. Cir. 1990)(en banc), cert. denied, 500 U.S. 904
(1991).
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Last modified: November 3, 2007
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