Appeal No. 2002-1629 Page 4
Application No. 08/863,121
hydroxylamine as the oxidant and does not teach the particular quaternary
ammonium salt combinations.” Id.
The examiner cited Ledis as disclosing the particular quaternary
ammonium salt(s) recited in the claims, and relied on Bunn as “teach[ing] that
hydroxylamine is an alternative to oxidants such as ferricyanide and nitrites in the
oxidation of hemoglobin, see page 642, Table 16-3 and the addendum thereto
regarding nitrites.” Examiner’s Answer, page 5. He concluded that it would have
been obvious to use Ledis’ quaternary ammonium salts in Toda’s method, and
that
[i]t would have been further obvious to the ordinarily skilled artisan
at the time the invention was made to have used hydroxylamine in
lieu of the sodium nitrite or other suggested oxidants as the oxidant
capable of oxidizing heme in hemoglobin in Toda et al., as
modified, in view of the known equivalent function of
hydroxylamine, nitrite, or other oxidants for the oxidation of
hemoglobin as taught in Bunn et al. and because the selection of
any of these known equivalents for oxidizing hemoglobin would
have been within the level of ordinary skill in the art absent a
showing of unexpected results.
Examiner’s Answer, page 6.
“In proceedings before the Patent and Trademark Office, the Examiner
bears the burden of establishing a prima facie case of obviousness based upon
the prior art. ‘[The Examiner] can satisfy this burden only by showing some
objective teaching in the prior art or that knowledge generally available to one of
ordinary skill in the art would lead that individual to combine the relevant
teachings of the references.’” In re Fritch, 972 F.2d 1260, 1265, 23 USPQ2d
1780, 1783 (Fed. Cir. 1992) (citations omitted). “Only if that burden is met, does
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