Ex parte ST. CLAIR et al. - Page 5




             Appeal No. 96-1781                                                                                   
             Application 08/389,521                                                                               


             surfactant/water mixture.  See In re Baxter, 656 F.2d 679,                                           
             686, 210 USPQ 795, 802 (CCPA 1981).                                                                  
                    During patent prosecution, claims are to be given their                                       
             broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with the                                               
             specification, and the claim language is to be read in view of                                       
             the specification as it would be interpreted by one of                                               
             ordinary                                                                                             




             skill in the art.  See In re Zletz, 893 F.2d 319, 321, 13                                            
             USPQ2d 1320, 1322 (Fed. Cir. 1989); In re Sneed, 710 F.2d                                            
             1544, 1548, 218 USPQ 385, 388 (Fed. Cir. 1983); In re Okuzawa,                                       
             537 F.2d 545, 548, 190 USPQ 464, 466 (CCPA 1976).  As argued                                         
             by appellants (brief, page 20), the description and examples                                         
             in appellants’ specification do not state that an organic                                            
             solvent is used in the process.  However, we find no                                                 
             disclosure in the specification which indicates that the                                             
             claims, when interpreted in view of the specification, exclude                                       
             the use of an organic solvent.  Appellants specifically refer                                        
             to the bottom of page 1 to the top of page 2 of their                                                


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