Appeal No. 2002-0439
Application No. 09/391,384
make the determinations which follow.
35 U.S.C. § 103
Claims 1-7 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) for obviousness over Weiss in
view of Takahashi.
In rejecting claims under 35 U.S.C. § 103, the examiner bears the initial burden
of presenting a prima facie case of obviousness. See In re Rijckaert, 9 F.3d 1531,
1532, 28 USPQ2d 1955, 1956 (Fed. Cir. 1993). It is well-established that the
conclusion that the claimed subject matter is prima facie obvious must be supported by
evidence, as shown by some objective teaching in the prior art or by knowledge
generally available to one of ordinary skill in the art that would have led that individual to
combine the relevant teachings of the references to arrive at the claimed invention.
See In re Fine, 837 F.2d 1071, 1074, 5 USPQ2d 1596, 1598 (Fed. Cir. 1988).
It is the examiner’s position that (Answer, page 4):
Weiss teaches a process for the preparation of creatine or creatine
monoydrate by the reaction of cyanamide with sodium or potassium
sarcosinate in water, or a mixture of organic solvent and water, in a
temperature range of from 20-150°C and a pH between 7 and 14. The pH
may be adjusted with various acids and bases, including formic acid [H-
COOH] (column 2, lines 3-18).
Takahashi is relied on for its disclosure of an apparatus for the treatment of
wastewater from construction with controlled pH adjustment, for example with carbon
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