Appeal No. 2000-1872
Application No. 09/087,746
compositions which include microorganisms useful in bioremediation processes and even
directs one to water treatment (column 9, lines 57-59 and column 10, lines 36-40). It is with
respect to the water-soluble colorant which the claim 1 requires to be present in a quantity
sufficient to prevent or minimize the photosynthesis of at least one of an algae and a weed,
that Diamond is lacking. The examiner has offered no evidence or reasoning which would
reasonably suggest that the colorant of Diamond, which could be green food coloring, and
is present in an amount "to achieve the desired degree of green color to impart adequate
product identification to the cellulose base" (column 7, lines 26-27) would correspond to
the amount of colorant required by the claimed composition. Further, Diamond would
appear to suggest that the colorant is in someway associated with the cellulose base in a
manner which would not permit it to function in an aqueous environment in the manner
described for the invention. The appealed claims are not directed to merely a composition
which contains the prescribed ingredients, but include limitations that these ingredients be
present in specified amounts. Diamond may include each of the ingredients, but does not
describe or suggest that aspect of the claims which requires that the water-soluble colorant
be present in a quantity sufficient to prevent or minimize the photosynthesis of at least one
of an algae and a weed. Thus, Diamond does not disclose each element of the claims
under consideration.
While we might agree that the bioremediation composition of Diamond is similar to
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