Appeal No. 2002-0449 Page 3
Application No. 09/037,409
for improving the breeding of farm animals with special reference to buffalo; a
milch animal of great economic importance in many countries.” Id., page 4.
Discussion
The claims are directed to an isolated “sperm motility-promoting
glycoprotein macromolecule having a molecular mass of 66 kda and purified to
homogeneity” (claim 1), as well as methods of making and using such a
glycoprotein.
The examiner rejected all of the claims as obvious over Mandal and
Harris. He characterized Mandal as teaching a sperm motility-promoting
glycoprotein that reasonably appears to be the same as the glycoprotein
disclosed in the instant specification. See the Examiner’s Answer, page 3. He
acknowledged that “[t]he Mandal et al[.] article does not teach purifying the factor
to homogeneity, and does not teach Appellants’ claimed method of purifying the
protein.” Id.
The examiner cited Harris as “disclos[ing] that protein purification using a
variety of different purification techniques in various orders is well-known in the
art.” Id. He concluded that
[i]t would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the
time Appellants’ invention was made to purify the factor of the
Mandal et al[.] article to homogeneity using the purification
techniques outlined in the Harris et al[.] text because it is routine
and desirable to purify proteins in order to produce an
uncontaminated product having high specific activity and because
the purification techniques of the Harris et al[.] text are of wide
applicability in the purification of proteins in general.
Id., pages 3-4.
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