Appeal No. 95-1209
Application No. 07/842,480
Where . . . the prior art disclosure suggests the
outer limits of the range of suitable values, and
that the optimum resides within that range, and
where there are indications elsewhere that in fact
the optimum should be sought within that range, the
determination of optimum values outside that range
may not be obvious.
In re Sebek, 465 F.2d 904, 907, 175 USPQ 93, 95 (CCPA 1972).
On the present facts, we conclude that Miyake would not have
motivated one with ordinary skill in the art to explore ranges
of concentration of a comparative material at no more than a
third of what has been disclosed in a comparative example to
provide only a slight improvement in a desired property.
On the present record we conclude that the examiner has
not made out a prima facie case of obviousness, and therefore
we also cannot sustain the examiner’s § 103 rejection.
The decision of the examiner is reversed.
REVERSED
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