Ex parte MA et al. - Page 8




          Appeal No. 1997-3811                                        Page 8          
          Application No. 08/357,845                                                  


          ordinary skill would use when instructed to use a chiral                    
          selector in a countercurrent chromatographic device.”                       
               We disagree.  Anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102 requires              
          a prior art reference to disclose, either expressly or under                
          the principles of inherency, each and every element set forth               
          in the rejected claims.  See RCA Corp. v. Applied Digital Data              
          Systems, Inc., 730 F.2d 1440, 1044, 221 USPQ 385, 388 (Fed.                 
          Cir.), cert. dismissed sub nom., Hazeltine Corp.v. RCA Corp.,               
          468 US 1228 (1984).  Here, the examiner has not shown where                 
          each of Pirkle ‘440 and Pirkle ‘293 have expressly described                
          each and every limitation of appealed claim 1.  Nor has the                 
          examiner reasonably established, under the principles of                    
          inherency, that each of Pirkle ‘440 and Pirkle ‘293                         
          necessarily describe a process including each and every                     
          limitation of appellants’ process by merely asserting that the              
          herein claimed process steps are of a standard nature.                      
               Anticipation is a factual determination. See In re Baxter              
          Travenol Labs., 952 F.2d 388, 390, 21 USPQ2d 1281, 1283 (Fed.               
          Cir. 1991) (citing In re Bond, 910 F.2d 831, 833, 15 USPQ2d                 
          1566, 1567 (Fed. Cir. 1990).  In our view, the examiner has                 








Page:  Previous  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  Next 

Last modified: November 3, 2007