Interference No. 102,572
a laboratory by a hybridoma cell line, created by injecting the mouse with antigen,
harvesting its spleen cells and fusing the same with cells from an immortal cancer cell line.
Monoclonal antibodies are specific to one antigen which may have multiple determinants
or epitopes. Antibodies have the ability to detect and bind to antigens. The strength of
the antibody-antigen binding is referred to as specificity and is quantatively measured by
an affinity value.
III.
THE COUNT
It is well-settled that, absent ambiguity, a count in an interference is to be given the
broadest reasonable interpretation that the language of the count permits without resort to
either party’s disclosure. DeGeorge v. Bernier, 768 F.2d 1318, 1322, 226 USPQ 758,
761 (Fed. Cir. 1985); Fontijn v. Okamoto, 518 F.2d 610, 618, 186 USPQ 97, 103-104
(CCPA 1975); Lamont v. Berguer, 7 USPQ2d 1580, 1582 (Bd. Pat. App.
& Int. 1988). We find the count is clear and unambiguous.
Accordingly, we construe the count as being directed to a two step process for the
production of either an Ig molecule or an immunologically functional Ig fragment encoding
at least the variable domains of the Ig heavy and light chains. The first step comprises
transforming a single host cell (e.g., E.coli) with first and second DNA sequences
encoding at least the variable regions of both the heavy chain and light chain and the
second step comprises expressing, in the transformed host cell, the respective heavy and
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