Appeal No. 95-2179
Application No. 07/994,536
method for treating burned skin disclosed by Georgalas to the
wound dressing composition and method of treating superficial
wounds
claimed by the appellants. Therefore, on procedural grounds
alone, we reverse the rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 103.
Second, the examiner discounts appellants' contribution,
stating that "one of ordinary skill in the art would have been
motivated to experiment with varying ratios of ingredients in
order to optimize expected beneficial results." This appeal,
however, is not about "optimization." The portion of
Georgalas relied on by the examiner discloses at most about 20
percent by weight of Lubrajel, whereas independent claims 1
and 12 recite "about 40 percent to 80 percent by weight" or
"40 to 80 percent by weight" of blended glycerin polyacrylate
clathrate. Independent claim 7 recites "about 40 to 80
percent by weight of blended glycerin polyacrylate." This 2
leaves a significant difference between the upper limit
disclosed by the prior art (about 20 percent by weight of
Lubrajel) and the lower limit recited in the appealed claims
2For the purposes of this appeal, the examiner argues,
and appellants do not disagree, that "blended glycerin
polyacrylate clatharate" or "blended glycerin polyacrylate"
reads on Lubrajel.
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