Appeal No. 95-4089
Application 08/090,073
does not by itself render that compound obvious) and In re
Jones, 958 F.2d 347, 350, 21 USPQ2d 1941, 1943 (Fed. Cir.
1992) (fact that claimed compound may be encompassed by an
open-ended description of a genus does not by itself render
that compound obvious). Unlike the facts in Baird and Jones,
in this case there are factors described by Cook which suggest
that maleic acid would be useful, i.e., the number of carbon
atoms in the acid and the solubility requirements set out by
Cook. Moreover, we note that Heit says that maleic acid is
useful for removing mineral deposits from glass. See Findings
15 through 17.
When the prior art and level of ordinary skill are
considered as a whole, we hold that it would have been prima
facie obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to
have used inter alia maleic acid as the lower aliphatic acid
called for by Cook.
Claims 9 and 10 further differ from Cook in that Cook
does not describe a pH of 1.2. In fact, Cook describes a pH
of generally 2-4, preferably a pH of 2.5 to 3 (col. 7, lines
8-9). However, Cook's pH teaching must be viewed in context.
Cook sought a pH less irritating to the skin. A pH of 2.5 to
- 25 -
Page: Previous 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007