Interference No. 102,712
Suzuki relies heavily upon statements made by Augustine
which at first appear to suggest that the WG-300 substrate was
indeed considered to be “best” for carrying out his invention
(AR-4, 89-93; SR-183). However, we agree with Augustine that
this testimony and other evidence relied upon by Suzuki is
consistent with Augustine’s view of the facts, as aptly
expressed at ARB-40, 44-50 and 91. According to this view,
which we believe represents a more accurate and comprehensive
assessment of all the evidence before us, WG-300 was chosen as
a substrate for testing purposes primarily because of its
ready availability, and not necessarily because Augustine
considered it to be better than any other SiC whisker-
reinforced alumina substrate, the generic category of
preferred substrate materials disclosed by Augustine.
Augustine’s “best mode” encompassed more than just WG-300. To
the extent Augustine may have contemplated a best mode, he
disclosed that to be the preferred application of an alumina
coating to a SiC whisker-reinforced alumina substrate, and had
reached no definite conclusion that WG-300 was better in a
technical sense than any other substrate within the preferred
category (AR-166, 170, 171, 172).
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