Appeal No. 2006-0916
Application No. 10/345,711
Claims 20 through 40 on appeal stand rejected under 35
U.S.C. § 103(a) as unpatentable over Markusch. (Examiner’s
answer mailed June 27, 2005 at 3-6.)
We affirm this rejection.2
Markusch describes a composite material (e.g., panels or
other products useful in the building industry) produced from
(a) an organic polyisocyanate containing ionic groups, (b) an
inorganic and/or organic particulate and/or fibrous material;
and (c) optionally other auxiliary substances and additives.
(Column 1, lines 16-18; column 2, lines 33-48; column 3, lines
49-56; abstract.) According to Markusch, the organic
polyisocyanate liberates carbon dioxide upon reaction with water
and the “carbon dioxide evolved may have the effect of forming
pores...” (Column 3, lines 38-48.) Markusch further discloses
that “[a]ny suitable particulate and/or fibrous material,”
including cement, sand, cotton, popcorn, wood meal, wood
shavings, sawdust, straw, and cork, are interchangeable and that
“[t]hese materials are preferably used in combination with
2 The appellants provide arguments for the separate patentability of
the claims as follows: (i) claims 20-35 [sic]; (ii) claim 28; (iii) claims 39
and 40; (iv) claim 36; (v) claim 37; and (vi) claim 38. Appeal brief at 5-
12.) We select claims 20, 28, 39, 36, 37, and 38 as representative of groups
(i) through (vi), respectively, and confine our discussion of the rejection
to these selected claims. 37 CFR § 41.37(c)(vii) (2005)(effective September
13, 2004).
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