Appeal No. 1997-2175
Application No. 08/201,522
Claims 9, 15 and 16 stand rejected under the second
paragraph of 35 U.S.C. § 112 for failing to particularly point
out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the
appellant regards as his invention. According to the
examiner, these claims are indefinite by virtue of the
recitation "biopolymers other than an alginate" in claim 9,
"polysaccharide other than an alginate" in claim 15, and
"derivative" in claim 16.
All of the claims on appeal stand rejected under 35
U.S.C.
§ 103 as being unpatentable over Nambu. While acknowledging
that "Nambu does not teach that the polyvinyl alcohol is
present in less than 1.5 weight percent," the examiner
nevertheless has taken the position that a conclusion of
obviousness is appropriate and that the "[b]urden is shifted
to Applicant to establish the criticality and/or asserted
differences and properties due to the differences in weight
percentages of polyvinyl alcohol" (Answer, page 3).
We refer to the Brief and to the Answer for a complete
exposition of the opposing viewpoints expressed by the
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