Appeal No. 1997-4365
Application 08/469,726
a melamine derivative, namely ‘melamine-acrylic resin,’” wherein the “melamine derivative” is
“hexakisloweralkoxymethyl-melamine obtained by etherifying hexakismethylolated melamine with lower
alcohol,” were known and teaches powder coating compositions comprising acrylic resins and
“hexamethylolmelamine” derivatives which are particular etherified products (e.g., col. 1, lines 8-14,
and col. 2, lines 17-39). We find that Wooten discloses that alkoxymelamine and hexamethoxymethyl
melamines are among melamines that are useful for thermosetting resins containing functional hydroxyl
groups such as polyester resins in thermosetting powder coating compositions (e.g., col. 1, lines 14-16,
and col. 2, lines 53-65). We find that “melamine resin” is disclosed in Macholdt as a “curing
component for hydroxyl-containing polyester resins” in powder coating compositions and, as pointed
out by appellants (brief, page 4), not for epoxy resins (e.g., col. 1, lines 55-66).
Based on this evidence, we find that the combined teachings of Iwasawa, Wooten and
Macholdt would have suggested to one of ordinary skill in this art that, in addition to melamine resins,
etherified melamine derivatives can be used to cure hydroxyl-functional acrylic and polyester powder
coating resins, thus forming a “film or object,” none of which is “melamine” per se as disclosed in
Kajiura or contains a pyrrolidonyl moiety as does tris-pyrrolidonyl triazine that is taught in this
reference. Furthermore, we fail to find in Macholdt or the other two powder coating references any
suggestion to use melamine resins or a melamine derivative to cure epoxy resins, whether in powder
compositions as in this reference or as “all-purpose resins” as in Kajiura (page 8), and we agree with
appellants that the combined teachings of these references does not establish the general
interchangeability of hardening agent compounds containing a triazine ring (brief, page 4). Thus, at best,
the use of crosslinking agents containing a triazine ring in the powder compositions as disclosed by the
combined teachings of Iwasawa, Wooten and Macholdt would have suggested to one of ordinary skill
in this art “to try” other triazine ring containing crosslinking agents, including the tris-pyrrolidonyl triazine
of Kajiura, which is “not the standard under § 103.” In re O’Farrell, 853 F.2d 894, 903-04, 7
USPQ2d 1673, 1681 (Fed. Cir. 1988) (“In [other cases], what was ‘obvious to try’ was to explore a .
. . general approach that seemed to be a promising field of experimentation where the prior art gave
only general guidance as to the particular form of the claimed invention or how to achieve it. [Citations
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