Appeal No. 95-3398
Application No. 08/103,318
hydrophilic monomer mentioned in the Carmody claims is one of the
initial monomers used in forming a macroporous cross-linked
copolymer powder and, therefore, is not used as in Example III to
treat the surface of an already formed cross-linked hydrophobic
copolymeric lattice (Carmody: column 9, line 54-column 10,
line 6). Further in this regard, we note that neither acrylic
acid nor methacrylic acid are ever mentioned by Carmody as a
monomer which may be used to construct the initial cross-linked
copolymeric structure as recited in the Carmody claims.
II. The 35 U.S.C. § 103 Rejection
We are unpersuaded by the examiner’s assertions regarding
the combinability of Albright and Frechtling under 35 U.S.C.
§ 103. Unlike the examiner, we find that the prior art provides
no clear motivation to combine the teachings of these references
and thereby arrive at appellants’ invention. First of all, as
noted by appellants, Albright and Frechtling each relate to
different types of polymers - Albright relates to porous,
macroreticulated polymers cross-linked with a polyunsaturated
monomer, whereas the vinyl acetate monomer and dialkyl fumarate
monomer of Frechtling are both monounsaturated. No poly-
unsaturated monomers are used by Frechtling. In this
sense, the references applied by the examiner are non-analogous.
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