Appeal No. 1996-4176
Application No. 08/287,915
component contemplated either is optionally present or may be
present in amounts less than that defined by appellants as
“substantially free.” See Specification, page 5.
The issue before us is whether the claimed subject
matter would have conveyed to one having ordinary skill in the
art that magnesium was excluded by the language “consisting
essentially of.” We conclude that it was not. Our conclusion
results from interpretation of the claimed subject matter and
supporting language in the specification supra. During patent
prosecution, claims are to be given their broadest reasonable
interpretation consistent with the specification, and the
claim language is to be read in view of the specification as
it would be interpreted by one of ordinary skill in the art.
In re Zletz, 893 F.2d 319, 321, 13 USPQ2d 1320, 1322 (Fed.
Cir. 1989); In re Sneed, 710 F.2d 1544, 1548, 218 USPQ 385,
388 (Fed. Cir. 1983); In re Okuzawa, 537 F.2d 545, 548, 190
USPQ 464, 466 (CCPA 1976).
Our construction of the claimed subject matter is based
upon our findings that appellants expressly excluded those
components regarded as materially affecting the composition by
inserting the language, “lead-free, cadmium-free and thallium-
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