Appeal No. 2006-0009 5
Reexamination Control No. 90/005,589
said to exhibit both excellent corrosion resistance to aqueous environments at elevated
temperatures and hydriding resistance. The zirconium alloy contains 0.5 to 2.0% niobium, up to
1.5% tin and up to about 0.25% of a third alloying element such as iron. Sabol at col. 2, lines 8-
14. Thus, the amounts of niobium, tin and iron in the alloy are not limited to amounts of
niobium, tin and iron within the ranges recited in appellant’s claim 1. See appellant’s claim 1
(alloy contains 0.8% to 1.8% niobium, 0.2% to 0.6% tin and 0.02% to 0.4% iron).
Sabol also describes an example of a zirconium alloy in accordance with the disclosed
invention which comprises 1 weight percent niobium, 1 weight percent tin, 1 weight percent
iron, 1000-1600 ppm oxygen, 120 ppm carbon and 80 ppm silicon. Sabol at cols. 5-6, Table IV.
However, the amounts of tin and iron in the alloy are outside the ranges of tin and iron recited in
appellant’s claim 1.
Since Sabol does not expressly describe an example of a zirconium alloy comprising
amounts of niobium, tin, iron, carbon, silicon and oxygen within the ranges of niobium, tin, iron,
carbon, silicon and oxygen recited in claim 1, Sabol does not anticipate claim 1. See Minnesota
Mining and Mfg. Co. v. Johnson & Johnson Orthopaedics, Inc., 976 F.2d 1559, 1572, 24
USPQ2d 1321, 1332 (Fed. Cir. 1992) (to anticipate, a reference must sufficiently describe the
claimed invention to have placed the public in possession of it). Therefore, the rejection of claim
1 under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) as anticipated by Sabol is reversed.
Claims 2-4 depend from claim 1. Therefore, the rejection of claims 2-4 under 35 U.S.C.
§ 102(b) as anticipated by Sabol is also reversed. See 37 CFR § 1.75(c) (1999) (“Claims in
dependent form shall be construed to include all the limitations of the claim incorporated by
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