Appeal No. 1998-0096
Application No. 08/518,182
“the conductive metal coating does not need to be a plated
coating, as in Saito (JP 4-6841). . . ” (Brief, pages 17,
20-21 and 23), we find these assertions to be unconvincing.
The transitional open-ended term “comprising” in a claim does
not exclude additional, unrecited elements; therefore, whether
or not Fujimoto and Saito (JP4-6841) disclose more than what
the claimed invention recites is irrelevant under 35 U.S.C. §
103(a).
Turning lastly to appellants’ contention that the polymer
body recited in claims 7, 11, 15 and 18 “can be an insulating
material and does not need to be conductive, as in Saito
(JP4-6841)” (Brief pages 17, 20-21 and 23), we see such a
contention to be unpersuasive. The term “polymer body”
includes insulating polymer and conductive polymer; therefore,
the claimed “polymer body” reads on a “conductive polymer
body.” Furthermore, the examiner has relied on Saito (JP4-
6841), not for its disclosure of the polymer body material,
but, for its teaching of the equivalents of different polymer
body shapes, i.e., columnar, spherical, and cylindrical
shapes.
In view of the foregoing, we determine that the only
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