Appeal No. 2006-2087
Application No. 10/960,252
paragraph). Manifestly, the number of references cited in a
rejection may be mandated by the number of conventional
ingredients recited in a rejected claim. It is well settled that
it is a matter of obviousness for one of ordinary skill in the
art to combine conventional ingredients in a food product, and to
determine their optimum amounts, in the absence of evidence that
the ingredients coact or cooperate in a manner to produce an
unexpected result. In re Levin, 178 F.2d 945, 948, 84 USPQ 232,
234 (CCPA 1949). In the present case, appellant bases on
argument on any evidence that the claimed ingredients combined to
form a product having unexpected properties. Nor has appellant
argued that the claimed ingredients in the recited amounts
achieve an unexpected result with respect to the method of
preparation. Accordingly, the prima facie case of obviousness
established by the examiner stands unrebutted.
In conclusion, based on the foregoing and the reasons well-
stated by the examiner, the examiner’s decision rejecting the
appealed claims is affirmed.
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