Appeal No. 2004-1934 Page 4
Application No. 09/819,317
covalent and ionic binding, adherence, such as with an adhesive, and
physical entrapment within a substrate (page 6, lines 12-14)”. An ordinary
practitioner, faced with the express suggestion of Halverson to ‘affix’ the
molecules by any desirable method, would have been motivated to select
the method of Kreisher since Kreisher states “Therefore it is a principal
advantage of the present invention to provide a rapid and efficient method
for electroblotting (see column 2, lines 19-21).” Kreisher continues a
sentence later to note ‘It is an additional object of the present invention to
provide a method as aforesaid which obtains high resolution and absence
of diffusion (see column 2, lines 25-27).’ An ordinary practitioner would
have been motivated to follow the express suggestion of Halverson to affix
the molecules using multiple modes and to utilize the mode of Kreisher
since Kreisher indicates that the electroblotting method is fast, it is efficient
and it has high resolution, all characteristics desirable to Halverson, in
particular the high resolution.
Examiner’s Answer, page 6.
Appellants disagree with the examiner’s conclusions, arguing:
One of skill in the art might arguably have a reasonable expectation of
success in using a porous material (e.g., a membrane or paper) as an
immobilizing material in the electroblotting method of Kreisher et al.
However, Halverson et al. not only fail to specifically disclose an array
substrate that is a porous material, they in fact teach away from an array
substrate that is a porous material by suggesting that the array includes a
substrate that provides a preferably non-porous surface (e.g., page 8,
lines 34-35).
Appeal Brief, page 6. Appellants also argue:
... Halverson et al. disclose high-density miniaturized arrays, but they
fail to specifically suggest the desirability of transferring molecules
positioned within a matrix to their substrate.
Further, as discussed herein above, Kreisher et al. disclose a method
of electroblotting molecules from a gel to a blot membrane, but they fail to
suggest the desirability of using substrates, as disclosed by Halverson et
al., as immobilizing materials suitable for use in electroblotting.
Thus, the art of record fails to suggest the desirability of the
combination of Halverson et al. and Kreisher et al.
Appeal Brief, page 7.
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