Appeal No. 96-0819
Application No. 08/146,696
As correctly found by the examiner, Kendrick discloses a
block copolymer having the same alternating blocks recited in
appellants' claims. The salient difference between Kendrick's
block copolymer and appellants' block copolymer is the
characteristic of molecular weight. All of the appealed
claims recite a block copolymer "having a number average
molecular weight of at least about 100,000." Kendrick,
however, does not disclose the outer limits of number average
molecular weight for his block copolymer. Notably, no upper
limit is disclosed. Kendrick merely states that, for his
purposes, it is "preferable to employ block copolymers or
[sic] relatively low molecular weight, e.g., from 2,000 to
50,000" (see Kendrick, column 3, lines 9 through 13).
Kendrick's working examples teach relatively low molecular
weights (EXAMPLE 1, copolymer A has a molecular weight of
10,000; EXAMPLE 3, copolymer B has a molecular weight of
41,000; and EXAMPLE 5, copolymer C has a molecular weight of
10,000).
According to the examiner, it would have been obvious to
modify Kendrick's block copolymer by increasing its number
average molecular weight to "at least about 100,000" because
-3-
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Last modified: November 3, 2007