Appeal No. 1996-4176
Application No. 08/287,915
Japan(‘044). Magnesium must be present in an amount of 0.2-
0.8% by weight. See Brief, page 6.
It is well settled that the term “consisting essentially
of” includes not only what is specifically recited in
appellants’ claim, but also any other materials which do not
materially affect the basic and novel characteristics of the
claimed composition. See PPG Indus., Inc. v. Guardian Indus.
Corp., 156 F.3d 1351, 1354, 48 USPQ2d 1351, 1353-1354 (Fed.
Cir. 1998); In re Herz, 537 F.2d 549, 551-552, 190 USPQ 461,
463 (CCPA 1976); In re De Lajarte, 337 F.2d 870, 873-874, 143
USPQ 256, 258 (CCPA 1964); In re Janakirama-Rao, 317 F.2d 951,
954, 137 USPQ 893, 896 (CCPA 1963).
We find in appellants’ specification that the basic and
novel characteristics of the alloy are defined as
substantially free of lead, cadmium and thallium. See
specification, page 4 and 5. In contrast, we find that
Japan(‘044) discloses on page 4, last paragraph through page
5, line 12, an alloy composed of 3.0-6.8 wt% Cu, 0.05-1.0 wt%
Sn, 0.20-0.80 wt% Mg and the balance consisting essentially
of aluminum. Other components may be present including Bi in
amounts of 0.1-0.8%. We further find that any additional
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