Appeal No. 96-3933
Application 07/829,899
Based on the entirety of the Frazee disclosure and appellants' specification
disclosure, it is our view that is there is no meaningful distinction between appellants'
hydrophobic polymer and the support resins within the scope of the Frazee disclosure.
Appellants' specification, at page 8, discloses that the preferable number average
molecular weight of the hydrophobic polymer is about 500 to about 20,000, and that the
hydrophobic polymers include polystyrene, poly(methylmethacrylate) resin, and poly(alpha-
methylstyrene). In like fashion Frazee discloses that the support resin may be comprise a
polymer derived from one monomer, such as methacrylic acid, styrene and alphamethyl
styrene, and the molecular weight of the support resin should be in the range of about
1,000 to about 20,000. (Col. 5, lines 21 et seq.) Hence, it can be seen that the support
resin of Frazee may comprise the same polymers as appellants' hydrophobic polymer,
with the molecular weight ranges of the polymers being virtually coincident. In our view, the
only difference between the claimed hydrophobic polymer and the polymers within the
scope of the Frazee disclosure is a mere semantical one. Also, we are convinced that
Frazee's support resins which are dispersible in water properly qualify as water insoluble.
The Condensed Chemical Dictionary defines a dispersion as a system of minute particles
that are suspended in a liquid, gaseous or solid medium. Manifestly, a suspension of
solid particles comprises insoluble, not soluble, material.
5
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007