Appeal No. 2006-0647
Application No. 10/069,561
then drying the fiber,
whereby said fiber possesses activity for accelerating a
coagulation reaction of fibrin monomers converted from fibrinogen
with thrombin, and possesses activity for stabilizing the agglutinates
by the cross-linking reaction with the coagulation factor XIII.
The Examiner relies on the following prior art:
Sugitachi 4,265,233 May 5, 1981
Colombo 4,340,731 Jul. 20, 1982
Edwardson 5,962,026 Oct. 5, 1999
Soe EP 0 956 869 A2 Nov. 17, 1999
The Examiner rejected claims 34, 36-55, 57-60, and 62-74 as
unpatentable over the combined teachings of Soe, Colombo, Edwardson, and
Sugitachi. Again, the claims are directed to a soluble, partially carboxy-
methylated cellulose fiber, and a method of making it, wherein the degree of
substitution of the hydroxyl groups in the glucose units of the cellulose fiber
is from 0.5 to less than 1.0, and wherein fibrinogen, thrombin, and factor
XIII are applied or chemically bonded to the fiber.
“In proceedings before the Patent and Trademark Office, the
Examiner bears the burden of establishing a prima facie case of obviousness
based upon the prior art.” In re Fritch, 972 F.2d 1260, 1265, 23 USPQ2d
1780, 1783 (Fed. Cir. 1992).
A rejection based on section 103 clearly must rest on a factual
basis, and these facts must be interpreted without hindsight
reconstruction of the invention from the prior art. In making
this evaluation, all facts must be considered. The Patent Office
has the initial duty of supplying the factual basis for its
rejection. It may not, because it may doubt that the invention is
patentable, resort to speculation, unfounded assumptions or
hindsight reconstruction to supply deficiencies in its factual
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