Appeal No. 2003-1561 Page 10
Application No. 09/632,840
presence of at least one animal digestible elastomer in the gum
composition, not to define an additional gum composition
requirement other than the requirement for at least one animal
digestible elastomer. That appellants attribute the above-noted
functional property to the presence of the elastomer is evidenced
by the claim phrase “such that the animal is required to chew the
gum over an extended period of time as compared to a chewing gum
that does not include the animal digestible elastomer” (claim
20). Also, see page 2, lines 25-27 of appellants’ specification.
Here, the examiner has reasonably determined that Abdel-Malik,
Shaw, Cherukuri or Cook disclose gums that include a digestible
elastomer that corresponds to the claimed animal digestible
elastomer.
For example, Abdel-Malik (column 11, lines 18-26) discloses,
inter alia, the use of animal proteins such as glutenin, gliadin
or zein in the gum. Shaw (column 2, lines 40-44) discloses the
use of wheat protein in a digestible gum composition. Cherukuri
(column 8, lines 36-54) describes a chewing gum containing, among
other things, ingredients such as zein, carrageenan and/or gum
arabic. Likewise, Cook discloses a chewing gum that contains,
inter alia, zein, wheat gliadin, corn syrup and/or wheat gluten.
See, for example, column 1, lines 65-67, column 3, lines 37-42,
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