Appeal No. 1996-0212
Application No. 08/261,759
ordinary skill in this art would understand, in our view, that
to produce Borisov’s triester product, a stoichiometric excess
of alcohol (e.g., ethylene glycol or glycerol) should be used.
In any event, some unreacted alcohol would be expected to
survive the Borisov procedure, and appellants acknowledge that
the phosphate ester itself is inherently hygroscopic. See the
specification at page 6, lines 18-21. Therefore, it is
reasonable to presume that Borisov’s fertilizer contains
hygroscopic agent in amounts equivalent to those claimed by
appellants. Again, we also observe that the claimed
fertilizer and the prior art fertilizer are made by processes
which are essentially identical. Compare In re Best, 562 F.2d
1252, 1255, 195 USPQ 430, 433 (CCPA 1977). Thus, it logically
follows that the claimed and prior art compositions should be
substantially chemically identical. Accordingly, we will
sustain the rejection of appealed composition claim 6.
Appellants contend that appealed claims 7-20 which are
dependent on appealed compostion claim 6, should be given
separate consideration. However, appellants’ arguments in the
brief regarding these claims simply point out differences in
what the claims cover. This does not satisfy the rule which
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