Appeal No. 2001-1241 Page 6
Application No. 09/101,234
objective teaching in the prior art or that knowledge generally available to one of
ordinary skill in the art would lead that individual to combine the relevant
teachings of the references.” Id. An adequate showing of motivation to combine
requires “evidence that ‘a skilled artisan, confronted with the same problems as
the inventor and with no knowledge of the claimed invention, would select the
elements from the cited prior art references for combination in the manner
claimed.’” Ecolochem, Inc. v. Southern Calif. Edison Co., 227 F.3d 1361, 1375,
56 USPQ2d 1065, 1075 (Fed. Cir. 2000).
In this case, we note first that most of the Schade reference is written in
German. The only English-language portion of the reference is the abstract.
Therefore, our consideration of Schade has been limited solely to what is
disclosed in the English-language abstract. Appellants have conceded that
Schade teaches “cross-linked copolymers of mono-ethylenically unsaturated
carboxylic acids of the instant inventions [sic].” Appeal Brief, page 6. However,
Schade teaches those copolymers in combination with “saturated, nonionic
surface-active compounds, as stabilizers in oil-in-water emulsions . . . and in
cosmetic and pharmaceutical preparations based on oil-in-water emulsions.”
Shukla’s wax/polymer granules, on the other hand, are not disclosed to be
useful in oil-in-water emulsions but in producing pharmaceutical products in
tablet form. See columns 1 to 2:
Before the 1950’s, most pharmaceutical tablets were manufactured
by granulating the active ingredients and diluents together with
suitable binders. The purpose of doing so was to produce free
flowing compressible granules well suited for tabletting in a
tabletting press.
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