Appeal No. 2003-1926 Page 15
Application No. 09/095,842
fluorine-containing surfactant alone. Similarly, lines 25-29 on specification page 6 explicitly
disclose that “it is usually necessary to use a large amount of a fluorine-containing surfactant”
(emphasis added) in order to prepare an aqueous dispersion of the type here claimed. In light of
the categorical term “usually,” I believe these disclosures would be interpreted by an artisan with
ordinary skill as teaching that the appellants’ aqueous dispersions can be prepared (i.e.,
occasionally albeit not “usually”) using not more than 1% by weight of fluorine-containing
surfactant alone in accordance with the claims under review.
Further, I believe the artisan would be entirely capable of so-preparing the here claimed
aqueous dispersion, and this belief is supported by the specification examples and by the Tsuda
declaration of record. This is because the specification examples plainly show a wide variety of
particle sizes and solid contents based upon parameters other than surfactant type and amount,
namely, the parameters of vinylidene fluoride monomer content and concentration (e.g., see the
Table on page 13 of the subject specification). It is, therefore, my perspective that the artisan
would have regarded these last mentioned parameters as being result-effective vis-à-vis preparing
at least sometimes, though not “usually,” the aqueous dispersions under consideration using not
more than 1% by weight of fluorine-containing surfactant alone. Analogously, the Tsuda
declaration evinces, at minimum, that a person of ordinary skill in this art (i.e., declarant Tsuda)
was able to prepare the here claimed aqueous dispersions without use of the non-ionic, non-
fluorine-containing surfactant which my colleagues (and the examiner) consider to be required.
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