Appeal No. 95-3313
Application 08/134,851
to 80% by weight; and in its dry state, a particle size
within a range of 400 to 1200 [.mu]m, and an apparent density
of 0.25 to 0.70 g/cc.
Discussion
The examiner has the initial burden under 35 U.S.C. § 103
to establish a prima facie case of obviousness under 35 U.S.C.
§ 103. In re Fine, 837 F.2d 1071, 1074, 5 USPQ2d 1596, 1598
(Fed. Cir. 1988). The examiner’s arguments in this case that
Whitlock’s process and device could be modified to produce the
claimed process do not justify a rejection for obviousness
where Whitlock does not reasonably suggest the modification’s
desirability. In re Gordon, 733 F.2d 900, 902, 221 USPQ 1125,
1127 (Fed. Cir. 1984). Various elements of the process
appellants claim and the apparatus employed to carry out the
claimed process, given a rash interpretation which discounts
the specification’s teaching, might be broadly interpreted
to encompass elements of the process Whitlock discloses.
However, claim language is to be given the broadest reasonable
interpretation which is consistent with the description of the
invention in appellants’ specification. In re Zletz, 893 F.2d
319, 321, 13 USPQ2d 1320, 1322 (Fed. Cir. 1989). The examiner
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