Appeal No. 2004-2129
Application No. 09/923,118
of the term “derived.” Answer, p. 4. According to the examiner, “derived” includes
monomers which have been altered from the original in an unspecified manner. Id.
Here, we find the examiner’s position to be perplexing. The term “derived” is
used in the same context in claims 1-12. For example, claim 1 is directed, inter alia, to
a “lactide-containing terpolymer consisting of monomer units derived from lactic acid,
glycolic acid, and either caprolactone or valerolactone” [emphasis added].1 If claims
1-12 are allowable, then it reasonably follows that claims 13-18 are as well.
Accordingly, we decline further consideration of this issue.
Rejection II is hereby reversed.
II. 35 U.S.C. § 102(b)
The examiner argues claims 13-16 are anticipated by Brine’s teachings with
respect to “lactic acid with a molecular weight of 2500-4500 (abstract)” and
“[t]erpolymers with other hydroxyl carboxylic acid such as glycolic acid,
1 Claim 1 reads as follows:
1. A pressure sensitive adhesive for tissue repair comprising a
thermoplastic lactide-containing terpolymer consisting of monomer units
derived from lactic acid, glycolic acid, and either caprolactone or
valerolactone, said terpolymer having an average molecular weight of
1,000 to 3,000, exhibiting an adhesive strength of about 600 to about
150,000 Pa, and having a water solubility of 0.01 to about 500 mg/ml at
about 25°C.
4
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