Appeal No. 1999-2646
Application No. 08/794,398
elements which do not materially affect the basic and novel
characteristics of the claimed invention. See In re
Janakirama-Rao, 317 F.2d 951, 952, 137 USPQ 893, 894 (CCPA
1963); Ex parte Davis, 80 USPQ 448, 450 (Bd. App. 1948). In
this light, and as conceded by the examiner, claim 1 excludes
cloth covers of the sort disclosed by Duran ‘021. Moreover,
the fair teachings of this reference support the appellants’
interpretation that such covers are added to all of the
disclosed rings or stents 1, including those made of
reabsorbable polymers, for implantation. Nonetheless, to the
extent that the “consisting essentially of” limitation
excludes a cloth covering from the claimed annuloplasty
prosthesis, it is met by the reabsorbable rings or stents 1
disclosed by Duran ‘021 as they exist prior to being covered
with cloth for implantation. It is not apparent, nor have the
appellants cogently explained, why these uncovered
reabsorbable rings or stents 1 do not constitute, either
expressly or under principles of inherency, annuloplasty
prostheses.
As for the “resorbable” limitation, it is not disputed
that the terms “reabsorbable” as used by Duran ‘021 and
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