Appeal No. 2000-0343
Application 08/849,008
particles are “hydroxyl-containing particulate material such
as clay” (col. 1, lines 12-13) and that “[t]he material
containing hydroxyl groups used in the practice of this
invention may be any of the well known inorganic -OH
containing filler materials or reinforcing agents” (col. 2,
lines 34-37). The examiner argues that the “such as” and “may
be” language indicates that the Gaylord ‘230 particles are not
limited to inorganic particles (answer, page 9). The
examiner, however, provides no explanation as to why one of
ordinary skill in the art, considering the reference as a
whole, would have interpreted “such as” and “may be” as argued
by the examiner. Except for the discussion of the prior art,
the Gaylord ‘230 disclosure is directed toward inorganic
fillers. Consequently, it reasonably appears that one of
ordinary skill in the art would have interpreted “[t]he
material containing hydroxyl groups used in the practice of
this invention may be any of the well known inorganic -OH
containing filler materials or reinforcing agents such as ...
etc.” (col. 2, lines 34-43) as meaning that the hydroxyl
group-containing material can be an inorganic material such as
the ones listed. Likewise, it reasonably appears that one of
9
Page: Previous 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007