Appeal No. 1996-2123
Application No. 08/069,458
Claims 49 and 55 are representative of the subject matter on appeal and read as follows:
A biologically pure strain of Acetobacter and progeny thereof, characterized as being capable of
producing substantially pure reticulated cellulose and by production of substantially low amounts of
gluconic acid and ketogluconic acids in glucose-containing medium as determined in samples by
observing a low frequency of calcuim carbonate clearing colonies on 1% calcium carbonate agar
plates containing glucose.
A mutant strain of Acetobacter microorganism selected from the group consisting of strains
ATCC Nos. 53264, 53263 and 53524.
The references relied upon by the examiner are:
Ring et al. (Ring) 4,588,400 May 13, 1986
Ben-Bassat et al. (>162) 5,079,162 Jan. 7, 1992 (filed Dec. 16, 1982)
Kusakabe et. al. (Kusakabe) 1,570,487 July 2, 1980
(British Patent)
Ramamurti et al. (Ramamurti), "Cellulose Formation by Acetobacter acetigenum in a 50% (w/v) Glycerol
Synthetic Medium," Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Vol. XXIV, 2267-2268
(John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1982).
Valla, et al. (Valla), "Cellulose-negative Mutants of Acetobacter xylinum," 128 Journal of General
Microbiology 1401-1408 (1982).
GROUNDS OF REJECTION ON APPEAL
Claims 49-54 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. ' 112, first paragraph, as being based on an insufficient
disclosure to support or enable the scope of the claims currently claimed.
Claim 55 is rejected under the judicially created doctrine of obviousness-type double patenting as being
unpatentable over claims 1-5 of >162.
Claims 49-55 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. ' 102(b) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35
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