Interference No. 103,995 Paper 29
Morel v. Sekhar Page 20
differences in results must be significant and of practical advantage). Here, one could as
easily draw the conclusion that overall zirconium diboride and titanium diboride oxidize at
substantially the same rate.
43. The ‘084 patent also describes zirconium diboride, when associated with
colloidal silica, as oxidizing four times as slowly as titanium diboride (c. 3, ll. 23-25). As
described in Table 2 (c. 3, ll. 32-38):
TABLE 2
Percentage conversion to oxide
Direct rise Rise with plateau at
o o
to 1200 C 1000 C for 15 minutes
TiB 15% 28%
2
ZiB 4% 6%
2
However, both zirconium diboride and titanium diboride oxidize slower when
associated with colloidal silica (compare Table 2 with Table 1, facts 43 and 44 above).
Sekhar concedes that “the reduction in the conversion rate of ZrB is somewhat
2
greater than TiB " but argues that when the relative reductions in conversion rates with and
2
without colloidal silica are compared “the differences are less than a factor of 2" (Paper
17, p. 17). According to Sekhar, these differences “are not so great as to be other than the
differences one of ordinary skill would expect to find during routine optimization of
ingredients (Paper 17, p. 17). Indeed, Sekhar’s position is not inconsistent with the prior
art. Sekhar ‘476 (SDEx 2) suggests that both the carrier and the amount of colloidal silica
should be optimized and that a number of variables, including differences in coating
thicknesses or drying rates, affect the strength of the end product (see e.g., fact 57 below,
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