Appeal No. 96-3946
Application No. 08/208,317
depend upon the "optional" components, no ranges of weight
percentages are recited in claims 1 and 13. Such
considerations would only arise for those claims which recite
weight percentages of at least one constituent. Still,
"claims are not to be considered in a vacuum, 'but always in
light of the teachings of the prior art and of the particular
application disclosure as it would be interpreted by one
possessing the ordinary level of skill in the pertinent art.'
When considered in the light of the prior art and the
specification, claims otherwise indefinite may be found
reasonably definite." See In re Kroekel, 504 F.2d 1143, 1146,
183 USPQ 610, 612 (CCPA 1974). In the present case, the
weight percentage range for each element is disclosed, and one
of ordinary skill in the art would know how to manipulate the
amounts within the ranges if other components were being
added. Further, if the examiner's concern is that the total
weight percent could be more than 100% if the optional
components were included, the court in In re Kroekel, supra,
held that "a rejection based on indefiniteness cannot stand
simply because the
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