Appeal No. 2006-2627 Page 39
Application No. 09/947,833
in the art using calcium sulfate that cellulose derivatives are known as set retardants for
calcium sulfate.42 Accordingly, I am not persuaded by appellants’ argument.
I am also not persuaded by appellants’ assertion (Brief, page 9), “there is no
motivation to combine the teachings of the Wironen reference with the teachings of
either O’Leary or Yim.” In this regard, appellants point out that Wironen “describes a
bone paste that contains thermally crosslinkable gelatin[ ]43 as the carrier for one or more
osteogenic components.” Id. According to appellants (Brief, page 10), Wironen
“specifically contrasts the teachings therein with a commercialized embodiment
[(GRAFTON)] of the formulation described in the O’Leary reference.” However, upon
closer inspection of Wironen, I find that the reference discloses (page 3, lines 22-26):
one commercially available product, GRAFTON®, (see U.S. Patent No.
5,484,601) is a non-cross-linkable composition of demineralized bone
powder suspended in a polyhydroxy compound (e.g. glycerol) or esters
thereof, optionally including various other ingredients, including gelatin.
It is considered likely that this material is rapidly washed away from the
implant location as the carrier matrix is glycerol, which is water soluble.
As I understand appellants’ argument, Wironen recognizes a “disadvantage” of
one embodiment of O’Leary. I note, however, that “[a]ll the disclosures in a reference
must be evaluated . . . a reference is not limited to the disclosure of specific working
examples.” In re Mills, 470 F.2d 649, 651, 176 USPQ 196, 198 (CCPA 1972). In this
regard, I note that O’Leary does teach that glycerol, as well as a number of other
agents, may be used as a carrier. See, e.g., O’Leary, column 3, lines 36-55. Further,
42 In this regard, I direct attention to Snyders (column 2, lines 21-38), who provides evidence that a
person of ordinary skill in this art would have known that calcium sulfate hemihydrate “is quite similar to
plasters used in the building trade.”
43 Thermally cross-linkable gelatin is a preferred embodiment of Wironen’s disclosure. See, e.g., page 7,
lines 16-25, “[t]he composition of this invention comprises gelatin. . . . The gelatin is preferably thermally
cross-linkable. . . .” In this regard, I remind appellants that a reference is not limited to its preferred
embodiments.
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