Appeal No. 1998-1278
Application No. 08/603,186
that Sartori also is the closest prior art since it teaches using
a combination of a corrosion inhibitor and the claimed specific
sterically hindered amine absorbent.
Secondly, the showing is not reasonably commensurate in
scope of the claimed subject matter. See In re Grasselli, 713
F.2d 731, 743, 218 USPQ 769, 778 (Fed. Cir. 1983); In re Clemens,
622 F.2d 1029, 1035, 206 USPQ 289, 296 (CCPA 1980). While the
showing is drawn to using a few specific absorbents with or
without a specific amount of cupric carbonate, the claims on
appeal are not so limited. On this record, the appellants have
not demonstrated that such showing is predictive of the entire
scope of the claimed subject matter.
Under the circumstances recounted above, we determine that
the evidence of obviousness, on balance, outweighs the evidence
of nonobviousness. Hence, we conclude that the claimed subject
matter as a whole would have been obvious to one of ordinary
skill in the art in view of the applied prior art references.
Accordingly, we affirm the examiner’s decision rejecting claims
1, 4 through 10 and 12 through 19 under 35 U.S.C. § 103.
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