Appeal No. 2000-0002
Application 08/848,477
including removing iron from same by converting the iron to an
insoluble form in an iron-rich waste cake which includes a
hematite complex containing other metals and ions. Appellant
does not challenge the examiner's factual determinations.
Rather, appellant has conceded that:
The present claims define a product made by one or
more of the processes in the patent.
But appellant has argued that, based on policy reasons having
to do with the 20-year patent term enacted in 1995, the
examiner's rejection should be reversed.
Specifically, appellant urges that because an applicant
for patent may not extend the term for any subsequently issued
patent beyond the term set by the statute and based on the
filing date of appellant's first filed application, the
requirement for a terminal disclaimer no longer exists.
Recognizing that a terminal disclaimer requires that the first
and subsequently issued patents must be commonly owned
throughout the entire term in order for the patents to remain
enforceable, appellant declares that:
alienation of one claim within a patent is possible,
there is no compelling reason to adhere to
obviousness-type double patenting for the purpose of
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