Appeal No. 2004-0825
Application 09/954,786
the paragraph bridging columns 1 and 2 as well as lines 8-22 in
column 2).
Our finding that patentee’s sinker can be made of
100% bismuth, meaning bismuth in a non-alloyed condition, is
supported, for example, by Brown’s teaching that his weight-
providing element can be made of substantially pure bismuth (see
lines 63-66 in column 1) and by the teaching that the bismuth-
containing elements of his fishing devices “contain at least
about . . . 95% by weight bismuth” (lines 5-7 in column 2;
emphasis added). For these reasons, we are unpersuaded by the
appellants’ argument that Brown’s disclosure is limited to the
use of bismuth only in the form of an alloy. Further, this
argument is contraindicated by patentee’s disclosure that “[i]t
has also been discovered that bismuth provides an excellent alloy
component when combined with other non-toxic metals for forming
non-toxic fishing devices” (sentence bridging columns 1-2;
emphasis added). Plainly, this disclosure reflects that Brown’s
discovery of using a bismuth alloy for forming non-toxic fishing
devices is additional to his discovery of using “substantially
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