Appeal No. 2001-0065
Application 09/048,289
The two published papers do not provide “recognition” in the art of the invention.
The statement that they are in part “of interest to the pulp and paper trade” (Pikka
declaration, page 2, paragraph 4, lines 3-4) does not indicate (1) if any peer review or
other screening for merit occurred, as is usually the case for, e.g. academic publications
or (2) what other considerations went into the decision to publish the articles
(presumably the other part).
Turning now to the substance of the papers from the bleaching conference, we
initially note that they are not declaratory evidence, per se. The data presented in the
publications would have best been provided in declaration form, comparing the closest
prior art directly, and illustrating the benefits of the invention.
We look to the declaration, pages 2-3, paragraphs 4 and 5 for the Appellants’
interpretation of the articles. According to declarant Pikka, the processes are according
to or relate to the practice of the invention and:
This procedure results in a higher yield, savings in bleaching chemicals, and
improved cleanliness, improved heat economy, reduced foaming tendency, and a
lower consumption of anti-foaming agent, compared to if screening is before the
oxygen delignification, and by recirculating the rejects directly back to the fiber
line – rather than treating them with an additional reactor – the costs associated
with the additional reactor are eliminated, yet the results are just as
advantageous. (Pikka declaration, page 3, lines 3-9, relating to Exhibit C)
and
As reported in this paper [Exhibit D], actual tests and observations show that by
practicing the method of claim 1 of the above-identified application utilizing the
apparatus of claim 18 it is possible to have a significant positive impact on the
quality of the pulp in the operation and economy of the entire delignification
process. The quality of the pulp produced is good with the pulp going to
bleaching so clean that it does not cause problems in bleaching. Because
oxygen delignification is a mild fiberizer of shives, the quality of the fibers
produced is good and there is improved yield. Also there is improved heat
economy (typically a savings of 50 – 100 Adt of steam per ton of pulp) compared
to if screening takes place before oxygen delignification, and there is a large
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