Appeal No. 2003-2129
Application No. 09/557,044
ingredient for the purpose of protecting the agricultural crop
from freezing.
The examiner relies upon the following references as
evidence of obviousness:
Janke et al. (Janke) WO 97/34960 Sep. 25, 1997
(PCT International Application)
Kobayashi 05-328859 Dec. 14, 1993
(Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication)
Appellant's claimed invention is directed to a process for
protecting an agricultural crop from freezing, and a composition
that is used in such a process. The process entails applying a
fermented biomass material to the agricultural crop.
Appealed claims 1-12 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as
being unpatentable over Kobayashi in view of Janke.
We have thoroughly reviewed the respective positions
advanced by appellant and the examiner. In so doing, we concur
with appellant that the examiner has not established a prima
facie case of obviousness for process claims 1-8. Accordingly,
we will not sustain the examiner's rejection under § 103 of
claims 1-8. We will, however, sustain the examiner's rejection
of claims 9-12.
We consider first the examiner's rejection of process claims
1-8 under § 103 over the combined teachings of Kobayashi and
Janke. While Kobayashi discloses a process for protecting
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