Trilateral Project 24.1-Biotechnology 150

The entire structural gene would not normally defeat the novelty of a fragment of that gene. However, claim language can be very important. If the fragment were claimed using open ended language such as "comprising," the claimed fragment could lack novelty. Thus, "a nucleotide sequence comprising Y'" would be anticipated by a structural gene that contained Y'.

Under 35 U.S.C. Sec. 103 & l02(e), issued U.S. patents are considered prior art as of their filing date. Consequently, the answer is the same for (a) , (b) or (c).

The answer is the same whether the invention is claimed as a chemical or as a probe. However, claims directed to a method of using Y', even for open ended claim language such as "a method of using a probe comprising Y'" might be novel.