Appeal No. 2005-0151
Application No. 09/615,305
It is well established that anticipation requires that each and every limitation set
forth in a claim be present, either expressly or inherently, in a single prior art reference.
In re Robertson, 169 F.3d 743, 745, 49 USPQ2d 1949, 1950 (Fed. Cir. 1999); Celeritas
Techs. Ltd v. Rockwell Int’l Corp., 150 F.3d 1354, 1360, 47 USPQ2d 1516, 1522 (Fed.
Cir. 1998); Verdegaal Bros., Inc. v. Union Oil Co., 814 F.2d 628, 631, 2 USPQ2d 1051,
1053 (Fed. Cir. 1987); Lindemann Maschinenfabrik GMBH v. American Hoist and
Derrick Co., 730 F.2d 1452, 1458, 221 USPQ 481, 485 (Fed. Cir. 1984).
We agree with the examiner that the use of the term “comprising” in the claims
“opens” the language to include vesicles whose membranes have additional
components other than the ABA copolymers recited therein. However, the claims are
nevertheless limited by the requirement that the membranes be “formed from”
amphiphilic copolymers wherein said copolymers are the ABA copolymers. Thus, we
construe the claims to be directed to vesicles wherein the membranes must be “formed
from” the hydrophobic and hydrophilic ABA copolymers, but additional components can
also be present.
To that end, we find that Pluyter teaches fabric softener compositions which are
dispersions of positively-charged lamellar vesicles containing the softener “active.”
Pluyter, col. 1, lines 17-19. Pluyter further teaches that “a block copolymer comprising a
hydrophobic backbone with one or more hydrophilic side chains” can be added to said
compositions. Pluyter, col. 2, lines 3-9. Pluyter still further teaches that when di-
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