Appeal No. 1998-2958
Application No. 08/671,516
Additionally, the examiner relies on admitted prior art [APA] in the background of the
specification related to well-known chemical equations for calculating air/fuel ratio.
Claims 1-14 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 101 as being drawn to non-statutory subject
matter. Claims 1-14 stand further rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as unpatentable over APA in view
of Yamamoto.
Reference is made to the brief and answer for the respective positions of appellant and the
examiner.
OPINION
Turning first to the rejection of claims 1-14 under 35 U.S.C. § 101, we will not sustain this
rejection.
The examiner claims that the claimed subject matter is non-statutory because it is directed to a
law of nature in that chemical equations describe/control a process of reacting fuel and air to yield water
and carbon dioxide. The examiner contends that a patent on such subject matter would preempt others
from using the chemical equations described by the instant claims.
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