Appeal No. 1998-1790
Application No. 08/711,134
related appeal referred to above. We add the following for
emphasis only.
There is no dispute that Fesman and Stone, the primary
references, each disclose flame retardant compositions for
polymers which comprise the presently claimed “normally viscous
flame retardant” and “an alkylene-bridged diphosphate.” While
neither reference exemplifies a flame retardant composition
comprising both of the claimed compounds, both Fesman and Stone
disclose the use of the compounds, and the mixtures thereof, in a
relatively small list of flame retardant compounds (see Fesman at
column 3, lines 3-17, and Stone at column 3, lines 20-30).
Accordingly, inasmuch as it is well settled that it is a matter
of obviousness for one of ordinary skill in the art to combine
two or more materials when each is taught by the prior art to be
useful for the same purpose, we must agree with the examiner that
it would have been prima facie obvious for one of ordinary skill
in the art to formulate a flame retardant composition for a
polymer comprising a mixture of the two presently claimed
compounds. In re Kerkhoven 626 F.2d 846, 850, 205 USPQ 1069,
1072 (CCPA 1980). While appellants emphasize that neither of the
primary references teaches or suggests that the alkylene-bridged
diphosphate reduces the viscosity of the normally viscous flame
-4–
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007