Appeal No. 2002-0250 Page 4
Application No. 08/930,771
The claim need not list every possible substituent for one of ordinary skill in the art to
know what is within the scope of the claim: every possible R group substituent is included. If a
compound has a polydiorganosiloxane polyurea segmented copolymer repeating unit which
meets the requirements set forth in claim 3, that compound is within the scope of the claim. For
the case when R is a substituted alkyl moiety having about 1 to 12 carbon atoms, any such alkyl
group with any or all of its hydrogen atoms replaced with other atoms is encompassed by the
claim. The claim may be broad in terms of possible R groups, but that alone does not make the
claim indefinite. One of ordinary skill in the art would understand the bounds of the claim.
The Rejection over Leir
With regard to the rejection of claims 1, 3-13, 15-17, and 19 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as
unpatentable over Leir, Appellants state that the claims stand or fall together (Brief at 3). We
select claim 1 to decide the issues on appeal with respect to this rejection.
Claim 1 is directed to a composition in which one of the components, a polydiorgano-
siloxane polyurea segmented copolymer, contains a mol ratio of isocyanate to amine present
during synthesis of the reaction product of between 0.9:1 and 0.95:1 or between 1.05:1 and about
1.3:1. According to Appellants, these ratios translate to amine to isocyanate ratios of 1:0.9 to
1:0.95 and 1:1.05 to 1:1.3 (Brief at 5). The Examiner finds that Leir describes a
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