Appeal No. 94-2477
Application 07/893,554
been made. Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 US 1, 17, 148 USPQ 459, 467 (1966).
Thus, it would behoove any person making a patentability determination under 35
U.S.C. § 103 to seek out and consider the most complete factual basis prior to reaching
the legal question. Clearly, obtaining and considering full text documents, instead of
relying upon abstracts thereof whether obtained from their original source or from a
computer database, when the full text documents are readily available, provides a more
complete factual basis.
An example of why reliance should be placed upon full text articles instead of
abstracts whenever possible is seen from the examiner’s consideration of the Vaupel
abstract. The examiner made the following finding at page 3 of the Examiner’s Answer,
“Vaupel et al teach that delta-9-THC stimulates food consumption in normal subjects.”
However, the Vaupel abstract indicates that delta-9-THC was administered to “food
deprived dogs.” The record does not indicate on what basis the examiner determined
that food deprived dogs are “normal subjects.” Consideration of the full text Vaupel
article confirms that that study involved dogs, not humans. However, Vaupel indicates
in the bridging paragraph of page 543 that the dog can be used “as species for
evaluating cannabinoid derivatives that may enhance appetite while lacking the
capability to produce sedation.” The full text article of Vaupel then indicates that the
results of the study indicate that delta-9-THC may be useful in treating human
conditions.
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