Appeal 2007-2598
Application 10/378,330
compositions, where the composition contains hop beta acids, food grade
organic acids, a soluble source of potassium ions, and an optional
antioxidant in a carrier solvent (Br. 2). Independent claim 1 is illustrative of
the invention and a copy of this claim is reproduced below:
1. A hop beta acid composition comprising a hop beta acid, a first
food grade organic acid, a soluble potassium ion source, and an optional
antioxidant in a carrier solvent, wherein the carrier solvent comprises a food
grade alcohol, a food grade glycol, or mixtures thereof.
The Examiner has relied on the following prior art references as
evidence of obviousness:
King WO 01/06877 A1 Feb. 01, 2001
Robert S. Igoe and Y. H. Hui (hereafter “Igoe”), Dictionary of Food
Ingredients 13, 113, 114, 116 (4th ed., Aspen Publishers, Inc., 2001).
ISSUES ON APPEAL
Claims 1-32 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as unpatentable
over King in view of Igoe (Answer 4).
Appellants contend that King does not disclose use of a soluble
potassium ion source, an amount of potassium ion source in the range of 0.1-
20%, nor an amount of hop beta acid in the range of 0.1-4% (Br. 4).
Appellants contend that no motivation has been established for
combining the references because Igoe simply defines various food
ingredients, namely a “laundry list” of 18 potassium sources, having no
relation to antimicrobials or King (Br. 8-9).
With regard to the dependent claims, Appellants contend that King
and Igoe fail to disclose or suggest the specific amounts of each ingredient
as required by the claims (Br. 11-13, separately arguing grouped claims 2,
2
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next
Last modified: September 9, 2013