Appeal No. 2001-1241 Page 4
Application No. 09/101,234
weight of the mixture). Optionally, other monomers can also be included. The
specification states that the oil-soluble component can be, inter alia, a wax,
sterol, oil, or fat. See pages 8-9.
The examiner rejected claims 1-9 and 11 as obvious in view of Shukla and
Schade. The examiner characterized Shukla as teaching wax granules “obtained
when waxes are admixed with certain flow improving additives.” Examiner’s
Answer, page 3. The examiner noted that Shukla teaches that the additives
include “methacrylic acid, maleic acid, etc. [which] read on the components a)
and c) of instant claims.” Id. The examiner acknowledged that “Shukla et al[.]
differs from the instant invention in that they do not teach the cross linkers.” Id.
The examiner relied on Schade to make up this difference. See the
Examiner’s Answer, pages 3-4:
Schade et al[.] teaches the cross-linked copolymers produced by
polymerization of monomer mixtures [similar to those of claim 1]
(see the abstract, page 3, lines 17-47, pages 4-6). All the
monomers and cross-linkers read on the instant monomers and
Schade et al[.] teaches the cross linked polymers as dispersants,
stabilizers and thickeners in cosmetic and pharmaceutical
applications (see page 2, lines 26-33 and page 9, lines 40-44).
Further, Schade et al[.] teaches the preparation of these polymers
with different viscosities (see polymers 1-12 on pages 10-13),
including the claimed percentages of monomers, cross linkers, oil
soluble components etc.
The examiner concluded that “both the references teach modifying the
viscosity or rheology of the composition, using the instant polymers. Therefore, it
would have been obvious for one of an ordinary skill in the art to use the
monomers and cross linkers of Schade et al[.] to arrive at the polymers of Shukla
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