Ex Parte Jackson et al - Page 6



          Appeal No. 2005-1438                                                        
          Application No. 10/027,433                                                  

          and silica gel) carrying silver corresponding to the claimed                
          antimicrobial agent.  See column 3, lines 22-32.  The above                 
          antibacterial and anti-fungal glaze composition is said to be               
          useful in meeting the increasing sanitary requirement for ceramic           
          products, such as ceramic tiles, since “the conventional glaze              
          does not inherently possess anti-bacterial and anti-fungal                  
          properties . . . . ”  See column 1, lines 34-63.                            
               Given the above teachings, we concur with the examiner that            
          one of ordinary skill in the art would have been led to use the             
          antibacterial and anti-fungal glaze composition, inclusive of the           
          claimed antimicrobial agent (e.g., metal containing ion-exchange            
          compounds) taught by Oku, with a conventional glaze, such as the            
          one taught by Deith, in the form of a sol-gel, motivated by a               
          reasonable expectation of successfully obtaining the benefits of            
          both the sol-gel glazing method taught in Deith and the                     
          antibacterial and anti-fungal glaze composition taught in Oku.              
          The nature of the problem in the art, i.e., the sanitary problem            
          associated with ceramic products, such as ceramic tiles, would              
          also have led one of ordinary skill in the art to employ the                
          antibacterial and anti-fungal glaze composition taught in Oku in            
          the sol-gel glazing process described in Deith.                             

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