Appeal No. 1998-1412
Application No. 08/397,124
composite material which anticipates the subject matter of the claim 12. The
transmission color of the material is determined by viewing the color resulting from
daylight transmitting through the material. Thus, when determining the transmission
color of the material of Example 4, it would necessarily function as a solar screening
material. Furthermore, claim 12 is not limited to Appellants’ argued intended use as a
covering for greenhouses as discussed supra. That is, claim 12 is not limited to using
the composite material for greenhouses. Further, claim 12 does not exclude the
presence of an absorption pigment because the claim contains the open claim language
2
“which comprises”. Accordingly, Armanini’s Example 4 describes a composite
material which establishes a prima facie case of anticipation of the claimed subject
matter.
We have not been directed to evidence that establishes the presence of an
absorption pigment would effect the solar radiation screening properties of composite
materials.
Appellants proffered evidence to demonstrate that the claimed invention
exhibits properties which are unexpectedly superior to Armanini. Specifically,
2 When a claim uses “which comprises” as its transitional phrase, that use creates a
presumption that the recited limitations are only part of the claimed subject matter and do not exclude
additional, unrecited elements. Moleculon Research Corp. v. CBS, Inc., 793 F.2d 1261, 1271, 229
USPQ 805, 812 (Fed. Cir. 1986).
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