Appeal No. 1996-1974
Application No. 07/930,738
§ 103; and even more so considering the fact that carbon black
particles are broadly defined in appellant’s specification.
To wit, the specification (pages 9-10) allows that such
particles may be of “varying graphitic content, size,
morphology and shape”, and “can range from highly structured
tree-like shapes to minimally structured rod-like shapes”. An
argument is made in the Reply Brief (page 2) that appellant’s
carbon black particles are generally spherical rather than
fibrous, filamentary or sheet-like. This argument is belied
by the broad definition in appellant’s own specification.
Moreover, we take note of appellant’s acknowledgment in
his specification (page 1, l. 19-29; page 3, l. 14-17 and l.
28-36) that carbon black is widely used as a conductive carbon
material in combination with conductive polymers in
applications similar to those contemplated by Naarmann; thus
lending support to the conclusion that one of ordinary skill
in the art would have found it prima facie obvious to employ
carbon black particles, in particular, as the carbon source in
Naarmann with the expectation of obtaining a conductive
composite material suitable for the purposes contemplated by
Naarmann.
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