Opinion ID: 694397
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: 2 This appeal involves an interference between United States Patent 4,788,036, naming Appellants (collectively Eiselstein) as inventors, and United States patent application serial number 869,138, naming Appellees (collectively Frank) as inventors. The Eiselstein patent issued on November 29, 1988 from application serial number 914,137, filed October 1, 1986 (the Eiselstein application). The Eiselstein application was a continuation-in-part of application serial number 566,601 (the parent application), filed December 29, 1983, which in turn was a continuation-in-part of application serial number 255,158 (the grandparent application), filed April 17, 1981. Eiselstein is also the named inventor on European Application 066361 (EP'361), published December 8, 1982, which corresponds substantially to the grandparent application. Frank was designated the senior party in the interference based upon the earlier May 30, 1986 filing date of his application. 3 The subject matter in interference is a nickel-based alloy having high strength, ductility, and resistance to corrosion. The alloy may be used for, inter alia, production of tubing and associated hardware for deep sour gas and oil well applications. The dispute centers on the nickel content of the claimed alloy. Count 1, the sole count, reads: 4 A nickel-base alloy consisting essentially of, in weight percent, about 15 to 25% chromium, up to about 20% iron, about 6.5 to 12% molybdenum, about 2 to 6% columbium, from 0.5 to 2.5% titanium, up to about 1% aluminum and the balance nickel with nickel being at least about 50% of the alloy [emphasis added]. 1 5 Two representative claims of the Eiselstein patent read as follows: 6 1. A nickel-base alloy ... said alloy consisting essentially of, in weight percent, about 15 to 25% chromium, about 5 to about 15% iron, about 6.5 to 9% molybdenum, about 2.5 to 5% columbium, from 0.5 to 2.5% titanium with the proviso that when the titanium is less than 1% the columbium is at least 3.5%, up to about 0.5% aluminum and the balance nickel with nickel constituting about 50 to about 60% of the alloy [emphasis added]. 7 15. A nickel-chromium-iron base alloy ... said alloy consisting essentially of from 15% to about 25% chromium, about 5% to about 15% iron, about 6.5% to 9% molybdenum, about 2.5 to 5% columbium, from 0.5 to 2.5% titanium, with the proviso that when the titanium is below 1% the columbium is at least 3.5%, up to about 0.5% aluminum and the balance nickel, the nickel being from about 45% to about 55% of said alloy [emphasis added]. 8 Claim 1 is representative of claims 1-7 and 19. Claim 15 is representative of claims 8-18. 9 In the interference, the Examiner-In-Chief (EIC) held that Eiselstein's claims 1-7 and 19 were anticipated by EP'361 and hence were unpatentable under Sec. 102(b). In so holding, the EIC denied Eiselstein's claim under Sec. 120 for benefit of the grandparent application's filing date. The EIC determined that the grandparent did not satisfy the written description requirement of 35 U.S.C. Sec. 112 for claims 1-7 and 19 because it described a nickel content of 45 to 55% weight percent, not about 50 to about 60%, as required by those claims. 10 The Board upheld this determination and further held that Eiselstein's claims 8-18 were also unpatentable under Sec. 102(b). The Board determined that, because the grandparent application did not use the word about in reference to the nickel content of the alloys described, the invention of claims 8-18 was not described therein and these claims could not be accorded the filing date of the grandparent application. Thus, while EP'361 did not contain a disclosure of claims 8-18, it did describe subject matter within the scope of the claims, and the claims were therefore held to be anticipated by EP'361. The interference resulted in a determination by the Board that Eiselstein was not entitled to a patent on any of his claims. 11 In its decision, the Board advised Eiselstein et al. that they could 12 file an application for reissue of their patent for the sole purpose of claiming alloys containing the balance essentially nickel in a weight proportion of 45% to 55% of said alloy. Eiselstein et al. are given two (2) months from the date of this decision in which to file their application for reissue. 13 Within the two-month period specified by the Board, but later than the one-month regulatory time limit for filing a Request for Reconsideration of a Board decision, see 37 C.F.R. Sec. 1.658(b), Eiselstein filed a Request for Reconsideration to contest the Sec. 102(b) rejection of claims 8-18. The request was dismissed as untimely in the absence of a showing of sufficient cause. See 37 C.F.R. Sec. 1.645(b). Eiselstein's subsequent Request for Reconsideration and Petition to the Commissioner asking for relief from the dismissal of the Request was denied. Eiselstein now appeals pursuant to 35 U.S.C. Sec. 141. 2 We have jurisdiction over the appeal under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1295(a)(4)(A).