Ex parte DAVIDSON et al. - Page 9




            Appeal No. 1999-2313                                                      
            Application No. 08/396,288                                                

            pages 3-4).                                                               
            Appellants argue that the cited references do not                         
            describe or suggest the existence of an anisotropy with                   
            respect to critical current in high T  copper oxide                       
                                                  c                                   
            superconductors.  All the claims require a high Tc                        
            superconductive copper oxide material having a critical                   
            supercurrent anisotropy.  Appellants also argue that                      
            there is no teaching or suggestion to use this critical                   
            current anisotropy to determine the direction of                          
            supercurrent flow through the structure (brief).                          
            The examiner responds that the mere discovery of an                       
            existing property of known superconductive copper oxide                   
            materials would not be patentable.  The examiner finds                    
            that appellants’ invention would have been expected by                    
            one of ordinary skill in the art (answer, pages 5-6).                     
            We agree with the position argued by appellants.                          
            All of the claims recite a superconductive copper oxide                   
            material having a crystallographic structure with                         
            parallel Cu-O crystallographic planes extending therein                   
            sufficient to create a critical supercurrent anisotropy                   
            in the conductor and the use of this anisotropy to                        

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