Appeal No. 1996-3887
Application 07/883,434
from the environment, the nematodes may then be reared in vivo in
susceptible host insects such as H[elicoverpa] zea prepupae or pupae . . .
the nematodes may also be produced on a large scale using in vitro rearing
techniques . . . In accordance with either technique, the nematodes may be
subsequently harvested and collected in pure or substantially pure form.
Example 1, on page 10 of the specification, outlines the process of extracting the
nematodes from the soil samples using a “bait and trap” technique:
Nematode Extraction and Culture. A previously unknown nematode of the
genus Steinernema, subsequently identified as S. riobravis, was isolated
from soil samples taken from corn plots after harvest . . .
H. zea prepupae were used as trap hosts for this experiment. Approximately
1 kg of a Hidalgo sandy loam soil, was collected at each sample site from
the top 10-15 cm of soil. Five prepupae were placed at the bottom of a 30-
cm diam ceramic pot, covered with moist soil excavated from the corn plots,
and incubated at about 23EC for 7 d. Dead prepupae were transferred to
[traps] and infective juveniles (IJ) of the nematode were collected 10-14 d
after exposure to the soil sample.
The Steinernema nematodes were cultured in vivo in the laboratory using H.
zea prepupae as a susceptible host. Following harvest the nematodes were
suspended in 50 ml of water and stored . . .
In light of this disclosure, we agree with appellants that one skilled in the art would
interpret “isolated from the environment” as describing S. riobravis “free from or isolated
from its natural surroundings,” and that “any composition of S. riobravis which is naturally
occurring would not fall within the scope of the claims.” Reply Brief, paper no. 16,
December 27, 1994, pages 19-20.
We hold that the claimed composition comprising Steinernema riobravis “isolated
from the environment” combined with an inert carrier is, like Bergy’s bacterial culture, a
6
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007