Full opinion text
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION CLARIE, District Judge. The plaintiff Mobil Oil Corporation (Mobil) filed its complaint in this patent infringement suit on May 29, 1967, in the Southern District of Texas. It named as defendants the W. R. Grace & Company (Grace), a Connecticut corporation having a place of business in Houston, and Pontiac Refining Company (Pontiac), a Texas corporation located in Corpus Christi, Texas, a division of Champlin Petroleum Company (Cham-plin). After the case had been assigned for trial at Houston on April 12, 1971, counsel for the parties learned for the first time of that Court’s insistence that they stipulate to the trial of this case before a Special Master. The defendant Grace then moved for a restructuring of the parties so that the primary litigants, Mobil and Grace, might have a court trial in the District of Connecticut pursuant to the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). Notwithstanding the fact that Mobil vigorously resisted Grace’s transfer motion, the Texas court did, on May 28, 1971, issue an order that the action against Pontiac-Champlin, a customer of Grace, be severed and that its case be stayed on the docket until final disposition of the principal litigation, and that the case between Mobil and Grace be transferred to the District of Connecticut for trial. After the plaintiff’s motion to stay and for a rehearing of said order were reviewed on appeal, the transfer was finally effected on August 26, 1971. Mobil Oil Corporation v. W. R. Grace. & Company, 334 F.Supp. 117 (S.D.1971), 170 U.S.P.Q. 582 (S.D.Texas 1971), affirmed from the bench, 5th Cir., September 1, 1971, without opinion. Mobil’s amended complaint claims that Grace has infringed three of the plaintiff’s United States letters patent. Each of these patents, the defendant concedes, was jointly issued to Charles J. Plank and Edward J. Rosinski, who assigned them to their employer, Mobil. They are: (1) Patent No. 3,140,249 (’249), applied for under patent application Serial No. 42,284 on July 12, 1960 and issued July 7, 1964, entitled “Catalytic Cracking of Hydrocarbons with A Zeolite Catalyst Composite; (2) Patent No. 3,140,253 (’253) applied for under Serial No. 364,301 on May 1, 1964 and issued July 7, 1964, entitled, “Catalytic Hydrocarbon Conversion with A Zeolite Composite Catalyst;” and (3) Patent No. 3,436,357 (’357), applied for under Serial No. 195,430 on May 17, 1962, and issued April 1, 1969, entitled “Catalyst Conversion of Organic Compounds in the Presence Thereof.” These patents will expire together on July 7, 1981, because Mobil voluntarily disclaimed through the Patent Office that portion of the statutory term, which otherwise would have attached to the ’357 patent and run until April 1, 1986. This Court finds that each of the claims in issue in the three patents are valid and enforceable; and that they have been infringed by the defendant Grace as alleged by the plaintiff. These patents relate to gas oil cracking catalysts, and are composed of a composite of an amorphous (non-crystalline) matrix, such as silica-alumina gel, together with a crystalline aluminosili-cate. The latter substance is more commonly referred to in the art as a “zeo-lite” or a “molecular sieve” type catalyst. Upon the commercial recognition of the advantages of zeolite component catalysts in 1962, they rapidly displaced the “amorphous silica-alumina” catalysts for industrial gas oil cracking purposes. Mobil has requested the Court to grant injunctive relief against further direct infringement, contributory infringement, or the inducement of infringement by Grace or others who are subject to the latter’s control. It seeks an accounting and damages caused by the alleged unlawful acts of the defendant and requests that the Court impose treble damages, together with all court costs and attorneys’ fees. Both parties stipulated that the question of the quantum of damages should be deferred in this action until the issues relating to patent validity, infringement, and enforcement have been resolved. Grace, in its answer and counterclaim, interposed the defenses of non-infringement, invalidity, and the unenforcibility of the patents due to patent misuse, as well as a counterclaim for damages and injunctive relief under the anti-trust laws. However, the parties have stipulated in the pre-trial order approved by the Court on November 11, 1971, that the defendant’s counterclaim seeking damages and injunctive relief arising out of the plaintiff’s alleged violation of the anti-trust laws should be dismissed without prejudice; therefore, that counterclaim is no longer in this case. Jurisdiction The complaint of Mobil alleges the infringement by Grace of three interrelated United States patents concerning “zeolite” hydrocarbon cracking catalysts. They are presently owned by Mobil as the assignee of the original patentors. Jurisdiction and venue are properly found in this Court under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1338(a) and 1400(b). Issues The present title ownership of the three patents is not in dispute. Both parties have agreed in their stipulated pre-trial order, that Mobil is, and always has been the lawful owner of the entire right, title, and interest in and to the '249, ’253, and ’357 patents, together with all patent applications identified in said patents, by virtue of the aforesaid assignment. The specific issues to be resolved are: (1) whether or not claims Nos. 1, 15 and 19 of patent ’249, claims Nos. 19, 23, 24, 28 and 32 of patent ’253, and claims .Nos. 7, 9, 10, 17, 19 and 20 of patent ’357 satisfy the criteria for patent validity embodied in 35 U.S.C. §§ 103, 102(e) and 112; (2) whether or not the patents in suit are enforceable in light of the Mobil attorneys’ alleged conduct during the prosecution of said patents in the United States Patent Office, or because of its subsequent licensing policy and practices, and; (3) whether or not Grace, by its manufacture, sale, offering for sale, or use of the accused products has copied, or deliberately and wilfully, directly or contributorily, infringed any of the aforesaid patent claims, or induced others to do so, under 35 U.S.C. § 271(a), (b) and (c). Defendant Grace’s Defenses Grace advances three basic defenses: (1) that the patents are invalid; (2) if they are valid, they have not been infringed, and; (3) they are not otherwise enforceable. The defendant contends that the three patents did not constitute a substantial contribution to the technology of the prior art and would have been obvious to one knowledgeable in this highly skilled art at the time the alleged inventions were claimed to have been made. More specifically, the defendant claims that the ’249 patent, which is the basic patent, lacks newness, novelty, and anticipation in the light of prior ideas patented, as required by the statutory standards in 35 U.S.C. § 102(e). Grace minimizes the significance of these new catalysts by pointing out that essentially, the ’249 patent simply provides for distributing an alkali crystalline zeolite component into a silica matrix in the form of an oxide gel and base exchanging out the sodium alkali to a content of less than one per cent. The zeolite component in the composite catalyst has a rigid three dimensional network structure and is comprised of spheroidal particles with uniform pores. The defendant asserts that the ’253 describes a two component catalyst produced by mixing a specific zeolite alumi-nosilicate ingredient into a matrix, except that it is required that the zeolite ingredient contain rare earth ions which, it is claimed, provide greater stability together with hydrogen ions or hydrogen precursor ions. It also requires that the sodium ions still associated with the zeolite after base exchange should not exceed 25% of the amount of sodium ions normally associated with the zeolite containing only sodium ions. The scope of various alu-minosilicates encompass 13 synthetic zeolites, including “zeolite X” and 16 natural zeolites. The ’357 patent includes not only the zeolite plus the matrix type catalyst, but is supplemented by a secondary solid additive clay to open it up and increase its diffusivity so that the feedstock may permeate it more readily. Grace claims that the silica-alumina matrix components in all' three patents was an old idea and previously well known as commercial cracking catalysts and that the zeolites X and Y discovered and patented by Milton and Breck, respectively, became available at about the time that work on the patents in suit was undertaken. Grace claims that the methods and steps used for incorporating the crystalline component in the matrix to produce the composite catalyst were simply reproductions of prior art methods. Grace further points out that long before the new synthetic zeolites X and Y became commercially available, it was commonly known in the industry that sodium was a catalytic poison and an undesirable material in cracking catalysts. It contends that the Kimberlin patent (DX-AJ), applied for February 5, 1957, issued February 14, 1961, and assigned to Esso Research & Engineering Company, discloses the replacement and reduction of sodium by base exchange as an essential requisite (Tur-kevich Tr. 1987-1988, 2071). The defendant argues that the low sodium limitation provided in the ’249 patent does not qualify as an inventive contribution, and bolsters its claim in this regard by reference to the Fleck patent (DX-AN), which was filed December 14, 1956, and assigned to the Union Oil Company; the Thomas patent issued in 1939, (DX-AA, Tr. 1909) and restated by Ahlberg issued February 6, 1945 (DX-AB, Tr. 2067). With respect to the ’253 patent, Grace claims that the inventors cannot take credit for an original contribution to the art, that rare earth exchanged zeolites possessed enhanced cracking characteristics, because that too was contained in the prior Kimberlin patent and was also the subject of the Bourguet and Hart patent (DX-AK) which was later assigned to Mobil (Tr. 1998-2004). The defendant asserts that Dr. Plank and Rosinski were preceded in this field by their co-workers, Frilett and Weisz (Tr. 1419-1438), and that the rare earth acid form of catalyst was part of the prior art references, when read in their totality, as disclosed in the Rabo patent (DX — AM-2 and AL-2). Grace pictures Mobil’s ’357 patent as being in principle within the same ion exchange concepts of prior art taught under the ’253 patent, except that the composite catalyst had a third component, the secondary solid clay additive, to increase diffusivity. Grace claims that in weighing the inventor’s alleged efforts to improve catalytic cracking during the period from 1940 to 1962, the Court should disregard that, because it was not until the mid-1950’s that the large porous synthetic zeolites, such as X and Y, became commercially available to use in a composite catalyst; and they were merely engrafting details onto a pre-existing structure of technology. Grace claimed that Kimberlin and Rabo were the first to discover the potential promise of large pore zeolites for catalytic cracking purposes and the plaintiff has recognized this by taking licenses from Union Carbide on the Milton “X-type zeolite” and the Breek “Y-type zeo-lite.” It is Grace’s position that Dr. Plank and Rosinski were simply diluting the zeolite component in the matrix and further diluting it by the introduction of the clay additive. In addition to the prior art defense, Grace asserts a secondary posture: that the patents are invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 112, because they have failed to set forth with completeness and definiteness the specifications of the patent claims. Grace claims that the references in the patent claims relate to uniform pores and that it has specific ions or cations associated with it; and that at the time the application was filed in 1961-1962, there was no known test available to science by which the presence or absence of these claimed characteristics could be scientifically ascertained. On the issue of infringement, Grace declares that it does not prepare its zeo-lite containing catalysts according to the patent claims in suit; that its catalyst particles are not spheroidal shaped and that the zeolite components do not have uniform pore openings; and that its matrix is not an inorganic oxide gel. Grace’s final defense is that the patents are not enforceable because Mobil was not completely forthright in presenting the patent applications to the Patent Office examiners and that the plaintiff has used the patents illegally to expand its patent monopoly. General Background Information on the Evaluation of These Patents Petroleum refining commenced in the United States in 1859 when oil was discovered in Pennsylvania (Tr. 152). As this natural resource is pumped from the ground, it is comprised of a mixture of large and small hydrocarbon molecules. The earliest techniques for refining crude petroleum for commercial use was the mechanical process of distillation. The applicable chemical principle was that the more volatile materials would be vaporized and then condensed, so as to physically separate them from the less volatile parts. This distilled product was generally called “straight run” gasoline. The chemical properties permitted the various sized molecules to be fractioned off at different temperature levels, because the larger molecules required a higher boiling point than the smaller. Each of the separate fractions were not only chemically different in composition, but had distinct physical characteristics of their own. They included light naptha, heavy naptha, gas oil (which required further cracking into gasoline and kerosene), together with the heavier and larger molecules, such as lubricating oils, heavy asphalt, and tar (Tr. 146). The petroleum carbon atoms are theorized to be structurally arranged in a straight chemical chain with hydrogen atoms surrounding each of these carbon atoms. It is the function of a catalyst to accelerate cracking reactions by converting the higher boiling materials into lower boiling materials and in this manner much additional gasoline can be made by “cracking” a portion of the heavier crude oil residue classified as “gas oil.” This cracking breaks up the long heavy gas oil molecule chains into smaller ones and they, in turn, are converted into a greater volume of the end product, gasoline. How the catalyst actually accomplishes this is not yet fully understood by the chemist nor fully explainable by science. Rather, it is the subject of much scientific postulation and theorization. That part of petroleum oil categorized in the realm of gasoline boils between 80° and 420° Fahrenheit, while the remaining gas oil constituents boil at varying heat levels from 450° upward to a tar or asphalt classification, which latter substance boils about 1100° Fahrenheit. It is in these high temperature categories that the principle of catalytic cracking has successfully operated to convert more of the gas oil constituents into commercial grades of high octane gasoline, which would otherwise be waste by-products and of comparatively little monetary value. The commercial process of thermal gas-oil cracking commenced in 1913, when heat was applied to break down the larger hydrocarbon molecules into smaller ones, thus causing the latter to possess chemical and physical characteristics different from their derivatives (Tr. 158). The gasoline being produced by this method was a low octane gas of between 65-70° octane (Tr, 162), and it was not of a quality satisfactory to burn in high octane designed automotive engines, nor was it suited to the prospective development of ever increasing engine compression ratios (Tr. 158-160). Catalytic cracking came into use about 1939-1940 and was first commercially developed by the Houdry Processing Corporation. The cracking technique was carried out by circulating the gas oil in contact with the catalyst, silica-alumina, in an environmental chamber of very high temperature. The gas oil feedstock was first preheated to 600-800° Fahrenheit and then as it came into contact with the catalyst in the reactor, the heat was increased to about 1100-1300° Fahrenheit. The resulting reaction caused the larger molecules to break down into smaller molecules equivalent to the gasoline boiling range (Tr. 161). This process produced a fairly high quality of gasoline having an 89 to 92 octane rating and a greater conversion quantity of gasoline from the same volume of gas oil. Two physical forms of the silica-alumina catalyst were generally used. The pellet or bead type (about one-tenth inch in diameter) was used in both the moving-bed and fixed-bed process, while the powdered or granulated form was used in the fluid catalytic cracking process. Contrary to the common chemistry book concept that catalysts themselves do not enter into or undergo change, this catalytic cracking process with the silica-alumina catalyst caused the hydrocarbon gas oil to inter-reaet and deposit a quantity of coke so as to adhere to the catalyst. As this coke accumulated and gunked up the exterior surface of the catalyst, it cut off the access of the gas oil from entering into the pores of the catalytic material, so as to cause it to lose its porosity and rendered it chemically ineffective, since the molecules could not readily enter into the pores of the catalyst and permit the products to diffuse out. The catalyst itself actually entered into the reaction here and underwent both a physical and chemical change (Tr. 168). This phenomenon required the industrial refiner to so construct and regulate the cracking process so that the coke could be readily burned off to restore the catalyst to its original effective chemical level. The accumulation of the unwanted coke represented not only a loss in the conversion volume of the end product (gasoline), and a substantial capital construction investment to complete the burning off process, but required additional process time in the catalytic cracking operation to restore the catalyst to its original responsive activity level (Tr. 171). The production control exercised by the refiner in the fixed-bed catalytic cracking process over the ratio of the percentage of gasoline produced had to be weighed against the unwanted byproducts of dry-gas and coke and the maintaining of a constant level of activity in the catalyst. The gas oil would be passed through a reactor chamber containing the preheated catalyst, where the molecules were broken down and changed. The catalyst was then required to be purged of any remaining volatile oil through the introduction of hot steam. Air would then be ingested into the regenerative chamber, where the carbon or accumulated carbon was burned off of the surface area of the catalyst. This procedure was found to be economically unfeasible, because it took 80° of the process time cycle to burn off the coke during the period of regeneration, while the effective cracking period during which it was effectively employed for conversion purposes utilized only 20% It took four times as much time to recondition the catalyst for future use as it did to utilize it in the productive cracking process (Tr. 171). This inefficiency led to the introduction of the moving-bed process for commercial use. In this latter process, the petroleum hydrocarbons were cracked as they moved through the reactor in the form of vapors and at a speed independent of a non-turbulent slowly moving body of . solid catalyst beads (Tr. 276-285; 2258-2259). The physical form of the catalyst used in the moving-bed process was the pellet or bead type, about the size of small peas, which Mobil marketed under the tradename “Durabead.” In contrast, the fluidized cracking process used tiny powdered catalyst particles, deliberately prepared so as to vary in size to encourage mobility, and the hydrocarbon vapors would move with these catalyst particles in a turbulent state, at approximately the same velocity through the reactor chamber (Tr. 284; 2258). The moving-bed and fluidized type of catalyst were composed of the same basic chemical material and the chemical reactions were fundamentally the same, although the problems of stability were different in the fluid units as distinguished from the moving-bed units (DX-PQ-p 0018, DX-AAQ). On occasion, the fluid-bed catalyst was prepared by milling or grinding the pelleted or extruded catalysts, sizing them to provide a proper distribution of the tiny particles in order that they could be fluidized through the system (Tr. 3115). In the commercial cracking fluidized unit, gas oil is pumped into the system at the bottom of the riser column (PX-355). It is then preheated to a temperature approximating 600-800° Fahrenheit to maintain a constant heat balance throughout the process. The catalyst is also preheated to a temperature approximating 1100-1300° Fahrenheit. Depending upon the ratio of the volume of oil, the velocity at which it is pumped through the system, and the quantity of catalyst, the contrasting temperatures reach equilibrium at about 875-960° Fahrenheit. As the two substances flow up the riser, about 80% of the cracking reaction takes place and the remaining 20% is completed by the time the separation is accomplished in the reacting chamber (Tr. 191). The catalyst settles in the stripper chamber, where it is treated with steam and is shunted-off into the regenerator to be burned free of carbon at temperatures as high as 1550° Fahrenheit.' The cycle is continuous and is completed approximately 360 times in each 24-hour period. These commercial units continuously operate as long as two years at a time, until the catalyst as replenished is considered worn out. The gaseous vapors containing gasoline, non-liquid gas and unconverted gas oil, escape out of the vapor outlet to the refinery where further distillation processes are completed. During the calendar year 1960, 1.2 billion barrels of gas oil were processed in the United States and this product had an approximate annual value of 2.5 billion dollars (Tr. 200). The gas oil being processed used as the cracking catalyst, silica-alumina, which was subsequently only 40% productively efficient in gasoline yield. In comparison, the patented zeolite catalyst, which is the subject of this litigation, increased gasoline yield by more than 20% over the old silica-alumina, depending in part on the depth of the cracking carried out. Almost equally important is the fact that 24% less dry gas and 39% less coke was produced compared with the former methods (PX-2, ’249 patent Example 3). The advance was a most significant scientific achievement in catalytic action in the petroleum refining field. The evidence discloses that Grace com--menced negotiations with Mobil in 1962, seeking to acquire a license to manufacture and sell the new catalyst and had even discussed the possibility of a joint venture arrangement (Tr. 2739, 2740). However, nothing was finalized from those discussions. At that time Grace was one of the largest and foremost producers of commercial catalysts in the oil refining business. From July 1964, until the commencement of this suit in 1967, it sought to license one or more of these Mobil patents in order to eliminate any conflict with Mobil’s claims for commercial production of the new catalyst. The dispute primarily centered around the amount of royalty. Mobil initially asked for a 25% royalty on the catalyst's sale, price, while Grace offered 10%. In December 1965, the parties finally agreed upon a 12% royalty (DX-TC, Goodall Tr. 2872-2875). Although there appeared to be agreement, no license agreement was actually signed. In February 1966, the Rabo patent issued and Grace discovered that Esso, the assignee-owner of the Kimberlin patent, might procure a reissuance of that patent with broader and more encompassing claims. The patent had originally issued in August, 1962, about six months after Mobil’s announcement of its ’249 zeolite catalyst. It became the negotiating policy of Grace to try to delay taking any license from Mobil until the question of the ownership of other inventions had been resolved (Tr. 3038-3044). There was genuine concern that, should the patent office grant the Kimberlin reissue claims to .Esso, the latter might dominate and block the use of the new Mobil patents (Tr. 2785). This concern was not unreal for it was of sufficient significance to warrant Mobil’s negotiating an agreement with Esso, wherein Mobil was authorized to grant sub-licenses under the Esso patents in the zeolite field, at such time as they were granted their pending patent, and to pay Esso a part of the royalties which Mobil collected (Tr. 3064). Between 1940 and 1962, prior to the introduction of the plaintiff’s patented zeolite crystalline-composite catalyst with which we are concerned, there was only one catalyst that enjoyed any substantial commercial use. That was the conventional silica-alumina catalyst which was in general use throughout the industry. It was made from either natural sources (clay) or synthetically from standard chemicals. It was an amorphous material that had no fixed form or shape. The pores in the amorphous material were random in size and location. Contrasted with this were the crystalline zeolite materials which had fixed, definite internal structures or shapes with the silica-alumina particles having porous properties which permitted the vaporized gas oil to enter and inter-react with the surfaces within the crystalline catalyst particles so as to improve the effect of the cracking process. While the use of the standard amorphous silica-alumina catalyst converted a substantial percentage of gasoline yield from a fixed amount of gas oil feedstock, it also produced excessive amounts of waste by-products, in the form of dry gas and coke. The four chief properties sought after in developing a desirable cracking catalyst were: (1) activity, the rate at which the catalyst is capable of converting gas oil (feedstock) into other products; (2) selectivity, the ability to direct the reaction so as to produce the maximum yield of gasoline; (3) stability, the constant maintenance of efficient catalytic qualities in an environment of high temperature and exposure to steam under pressure; and (4) attrition resistance, the ability to retain its physical and chemical properties without being consumed or destroyed in the commercial cracking process. This latter quality of attrition resistance is significant, because it determines the amount of fresh new catalyst that must be continuously added as makeup (Tr. 202-207). While experimental laboratory testing is essential to find and develop the desirable qualities sought, a successful result is not necessarily measured solely by the scientific laboratory experiment. A laboratory success can be a commercial failure, unless industrial quantities can be economically produced in commercial plants under massive volume processing conditions. The industrial race for the key to finding this golden fleece impelled the giants of the petroleum industry with almost unlimited resources to engage in a fierce competitive research-race to crack the seemingly impregnable scientific barriers. The financial incentive was obviously enormous, because even a mere 1% increase in gasoline yield over the amorphous silica-alumina catalyst then in use would be worth over $80,000 per day, or 20 million dollars per year to the industry (Tr. 225). The total savings to the petroleum refinery industry for the period 1962 through 1970 would approximate 2 billion dollars (Tr. 1877). Illustrative of the intensive search carried on during this lengthy period from 1940-1962, the Houdry Process Corporation, a pioneer in the field of catalytic cracking, alone employed 35 expert and professional people devoted to a solution of the problems of catalytic research during 1947-1958. Three thousand new ideas resulted from that research, but no catalyst was discovered better than silica-alumina (Tr. 224-227, 3119). The defendant Grace, during the period between 1955-1962, filed 21 new patent applications directed toward the improvement of the old amorphous silica-alumina catalysts, but with no meaningful success, (Tr. 241-244, PX-738, tab 14). Until 1962, when the Mobil patent '249 came on the market, the gas oil cracking catalyst art had made no significant improvement in petroleum catalytic cracking during 20 years of well-organized, active, and expensive research effort in this sensitive catalytic field of chemical magic and unpredictable results. The Patented Invention Throügh the shadows of this background setting, Plank and Rosinski, brought light. These two inventors were both research chemists in the employ of Mobil in 1956 working with numerous other scientists on catalytic research at its Paulsboro, New Jersey, laboratory. Dr. Plank had worked for Mobil since April 1, 1941, but had been in the catalyst research group continuously since 1955; Rosinski, his colleague, had been working continuously in the development group since 1947 and in the catalyst research group since 1956 (Plank Tr. 2659-2660). Mobil, like everyone else in the industry, was at that time still using the amorphous silica-alumina type of catalyst (Rosinski Tr. 320-321). In February 1956, as a result of extensive chemical research, Rosinski postulated the theory that it might prove advantageous in improving catalytic activity and selectivity if, instead of using the usual amorphous silica-alumina particles having non-uniform shaped pores and variable diameters of 5 to 200 Angstroms, it might be possible to generate from within the catalyst itself the formation of uniform pores which would be large enough to screen and admit only the gas oil molecules, yet sufficiently small to confine the molecules in such a manner as to cause them to have maximum contact with the interior pore surfaces of the catalyst (Tr. 799, 324). Ro-sinski’s idea was to incorporate pores of a uniform size into the conventional non-uniform pore sponge-like catalyst. The theory was that the non-uniform and the uniform pores of his resulting composite catalyst might interact and work in concert to produce a new and enhanced cracking effect (Rosinski Tr. 366-369; 789-794; PX-599; 652). To accomplish this he tried incorporating into the amorphous silica-alumina various organic materials such as rubber, latex, waxes, and protein gels, as well as starches and sugars. He would then cause these substances to be driven out by vaporizing them through thermal treatment or dissolving them in chemical solution (Tr. 366-369). Plaintiff’s Exhibit 652 demonstrates the inventors’ attempts at the formation of these desired uniform cavities or openings in a gel catalyst by impregnating it and then burning out these foreign materials (Tr. 370). The initial attempts to convince his superiors of the merits of his theory met with no success (Rosinski Tr. 799-802). However, in mid-1956, Rosinski discussed his ideas with Dr. Plank, who had tried a similar idea without success in connection with some chemical absorbent research being done by him about 1954 (Plank Tr. 2716-2718). Plank was so impressed with Rosinski’s ideas that he secured the latter’s transfer to his own special research group during the first week of December, 1956 (Rosinski Tr. 316, 376, 389-390; Plank Tr. 2691-2693). By December 10, 1956, Plank recorded in his laboratory notebook (PX-598), and discussed with Rosinski (Plank Tr. 2688-2693), the idea of mixing large pore crystalline zeolite into an amorphous silica-alumina catalyst to obtain uniform pores. Simultaneously he recorded the idea of “base-exchanging” the zeolite with ammonium or hydrogen to improve the catalytic properties of the combination. The notebook entry referred to the idea as one for making “an excellent combination catalyst.” The plaintiff would now claim this official recordation as the first documentation of the concept that led to the ’249 patent (PX-598, p. 25341-4). On January 25, 1957, Dr. Plank noted in his laboratory notebook (PX-79) the scientific technique of making a composite catalyst having a structure which included both uniform and non-uniform pores by dispersing finely milled crystalline molecular sieve particles having uniform pores into a siliceous gel structure (PX-140; Tr. 396), and then base-exchanging it with ammonium or hydrogen cations (PX-139; PX-140; Plank Tr. 2693-2696). The crystalline zeolites are sometimes referred to as crystalline “aluminosili-cates” (Rosinski Tr. 322). They are composed primarily of three chemical elements : aluminum, silica and oxygen (Turkevich Tr. 2051). In addition, they usually have associated with them, in the form of electrically charged ions, some metal, such as sodium, magnesium, or rare earth metals (Turkevich Tr. 2049-2051). The ions of a particular metal associated with such zeolites may be replaced by, or exchanged with, ions of another metal or ions of a non-metal (e. g. ammonium). The result is accomplished by an old and conventional technique called base-exchange, in which the zeolite is washed with a solution containing the replacement ions (Rosinski Tr. 339-341; Turkevich Tr. 1965). Thus sodium ions originally associated with a crystalline zeolite may be replaced in whole or in part by magnesium ions, rare earth ions, ammonium ions, or a combination of ions (Turkevich Tr. 2014-2015). Dr. Plank and Rosinski conceded that they did not invent the generic concept of crystalline aluminosili-cate, base-exchanged with metal ions such as calcium, magnesium, and rare earth; or base-exchanging the same with ammonium (NH-4) or hydrogen (H) ions. This was done previously by Frilette and Weisz (Tr. 719-723; DX-BS; DX-BT). When zeolite X with normal sodium content is subjected to the industrial cracking conditions of heat and steam, it will decompose as would zeolite Y. The ’249 patent teaches how to treat or modify these zeolites, so that they retain their crystallinity with uniform pore sizes, so as to render them useful in catalytic cracking. The alkali crystalline alu-minosilicate is treated with solutions that contain other cations to replace the sodium in this process called base-exchange (Tr. 339-340). Dr. Plank found that this procedure gave a better physical structure to the sieve and a more stable “NH-4 plus” and “H plus” acid form of sieve. This development contradicted basic teachings in the art at that time, because the presence of any crystalline material in a silica-alumina amorphous catalyst had been believed to affect adversely its catalytic performance (PX-140). Previously tested forms of this type would ordinarily peptize into an aqueous colloid and then disappear or be destroyed by the steam and heat conditions encountered in commercial cracking. However, in the proposed invention structure, even if the catalytic particles should peptize out under mass processing conditions, they would still remain locked into the gel pores of the siliceous gel and retain their functional chemical properties (Tr. 397; 442-445; Plank Tr. 2668-2671). In their effort to perfect an improved commercially practical catalyst, Dr. Plank and Rosinski decided to subject the catalyst to the same extreme steam and thermal conditions actually encountered in the industrial cracking process (Rosinski Tr. 467-469). Twenty-four hours steaming at about 1200° Fahrenheit is considered comparable or equivalent to 4-6 months in a cracking unit. Only if the end result could produce a greater gasoline yield with less dry gas and coke at the same conversion level from a fixed amount of gas oil could improvement be measured (PX-751; Ro-sinski Tr. 1450-1453). Plank and Rosinski discussed these procedures and considered incorporating a 13-X (crystalline aluminosilicate or crystalline zeolite), (Rosinski Tr. 436), molecular sieve in a silica gel matrix and then base exchanging it with ammonium chloride to make the ammonia form, which was then treated with heat (Laboratory catalyst CP 3667). They found that the catalytic activity was far better than what they had expected from the silica-matrix alone (Tr. 399); and that it gave a greater gasoline yield than the silica-alumina alone at the same conversion level. These results were then compared with CP 3668, wherein there had been no base exchange, but had otherwise been made at the same time and tested in the same way. It was found that the latter catalyst, absent the base exchange treatment, would decompose and disintegrate. It, (CP 3668), had a low surface area and acted as a dead catalyst, because of the high residual sodium in its composition (,Ro-sinski Tr. 436-8; PX-90; Tr. 400-403). It was the same in all respects as CP 3667, but it had not been subjected to the ammonium sulfate base-exchange step and, as a result, contained about 2.-91% sodium. As a result, when it was exposed to steam, it became useless (Ro-sinski Tr. 408; 423-425; 435-439; PX-80). The basic principles embodied in the invention of the ’249 patent were actually reduced to practice around June 7, 1957, when Rosinski made the laboratory catalyst preparation (CP 3667). He incorporated the 13-X molecular sieve into a siliceous gel matrix and then base-exchanged the composite with ammonium sulfate to reduce the sodium content of the composite to 0.48 weight per cent (Rosinski Tr. 402-408; PX-79). The crystalline aluminosilicate varied from 5-40%, while the matrix varied from 60-95%. The bulk of the composite was matrix and the minor component was crystalline aluminosilicate (Tr. 326). Following steaming, this composite produced 4% to 5% more gasoline than the standard silica-alumina acting by itself at the new conversion level (Rosinski Tr. 439-441; 1450-1453; PX-751). The CP 3667 catalyst showed an activity of 50.12 volume per cent conversion and 36.92 volume per cent gasoline yield (Rosinski Tr. 410-11; PX-79, p. 400098). On April 15, 1959, Plank and Rosinski commenced development of CP 4017, a low sodium (about 1%) composite catalyst, (Tr. 472), comprising a silica-alumina matrix and approximately 40% by weight of the calcium exchanged 10-X type zeolite (Plank Tr. 2703-2704; Ro-sinski Tr. 448-451). The sodium 13-X zeolite form was first base exchanged with calcium chloride under elevated temperatures, washed free of salts, and filtered off before being incorporated into the silica-alumina matrix. The 13-X and 10-X compositions were then compared for catalytic cracking purposes (PX-81) and PX-16). One important criterion of a good cracking catalyst is the surface area on which the hydrocarbons are able to react (Rosinski Tr. 461). The “Cat D” evaluation of the un-steamed fresh catalyst (CP 4017) with sodium content (about 1% after calcination) demonstrated an 80% conversion of gas oil with a 52% yield of gasoline; whereas the comparative CP 4018 fresh catalyst showed a 42.8% conversion with a 36.2% gasoline yield. No steaming tests were run on the latter, because it was recognized as being obviously unstable. However, after steaming the CP 4017, the gas oil conversion was reduced to 38.4% with a gasoline yield of 32.4% (Rosinski Tr. 457; PX-16, table 4). Thus, through this comparison it became obvious that the calcium form of 10-X, when compared with the sodium form of 13-X (CP 4018), demonstrated that the former was definitely superior. The 13-X possessed the inherent characteristics of sodium poisoning which sharply reduced its effective performance. This experiment indicated progress toward selective performance with the combination of the crystalline aluminosilicate of the 10-X calcium form in a silica-alumina matrix (Rosinski Tr. 465). In those zeolites where the sodium was removed by base-exchange and the calcium and ammonium combinations replaced it, the composite became more stable to steam and more active as a catalyst. As additional experimental catalysts were tried and tested, CP 4253 was developed in the time period of January, 1960, (Rosinski Tr. 474), and the experimental data appears as example 3 on the cover sheet of the ’249 patent (PX-2, filed July 12, 1960). It demonstrates that 21% more gasoline yield was produced, compared with the former standard silica-alumina catalyst, when evaluated under the same conversion conditions; additionally, 24% less dry gas and 39% less coke resulted (Tr. 483). About February 16, 1960, in CP 4252 and CP 4253, Plank and Rosinski started to explore the area of combining a rare earth exchange composite with the 13-X and the silica-alumina matrix (PX-2, col. 21-22, Example 26; PX-82). Tests demonstrated that the rare earth exchanged catalysts were essentially stable and withstood steam treatment (PX-77, Fig. 40; PX-691). The multiple hours of heated steam under these tests could equal several years normal use of the catalysts in a commercial unit (Tr. 508). Several tons of fresh catalyst are ordinarily required to be regularly added and ingested daily into the average commercial cracking system in order to maintain a constant conversion equilibrium; however, even then it will ultimately wear out and deposits of the metal organics in the gas oil charge will contaminate the catalyst so as to reduce its performance. While the calcium and ammonium base-exchange forms of the catalyst showed advantages, the rare earth base-exchanged catalysts demonstrated an even further advancement (Tr. 523). The latter information became known to Mobil, before it commenced making the calcium form commercially. Therefore, it switched over to the rare earth form because of recognition of the latter’s greater selectivity and stability. While a test of the calcium form .internally had higher selectivity, it had thermal limitations because as the heat in the commercial units exceeded 1225° Fahrenheit, the calcium became less stable than did the rare earth form (Tr. 525). By July 12, 1960, Plank and Rosinski filed patent application No. 42,284, the predecessor of the '249. By then they were convinced that the best metal ion to use for base-exchanging the zeolite component of their composite, considering its favorable conversion and reaction to steam, was the rare earth ion, (Rosin-ski Tr. 502-508, 515-516; PX-709; PX-77), and that the best composite catalyst could be produced by base-exchange with rare earth and ammonium cations (Rosinski Tr. 567-577; PX-717-A, 717-B). The ’253 patent in suit embodies both of these concepts. As of July, 1960, they had tested their laboratory experiment CP 4473 and found it to be the most selective catalyst which they had yet developed (Rosinski Tr. 563-573). It was composed of a combination of rare earth and acid zeo-lite in a silica-alumina matrix, which provided even greater benefits than did the ’249 patent. They found that the composite of rare earth with the crystalline zeolites became more stable and would tolerate higher levels of sodium in the composite, without lessening the desired results (PX-618). The end disclosures of this experiment were such an advance that Mobil decided to test it commercially and it became the first commercial zeolite catalyst, D-5 Fluid and Durabead-5. This break-through was the greatest single catalytic advance in 27 years (PX-603, p. 17), and it was announced to the trade on March 22, 1962, as a new and startling advancement in the oil catalytic cracking art (PX-134; PX-135). Its composition is covered in the claims of the ’249 and ’253 patents now in suit. As soon as these revolutionary claims became public knowledge in the trade, the defendant Grace, the major producer of cracking catalysts in the world (Tr. 2733), was immediately alerted. The very next day its Vice-President notified the Chairman of its Board of Directors that the industry had been taken by complete surprise and that, if this new catalyst did what Mobile claimed, it would ruin their own catalyst business (PX-489; Tr. 2839). Grace immediately set out to evaluate Mobil’s new product by procuring a sample (Tr. 2843), and then attempted to develop a fluid catalyst based on the Mobil techniques (PX-728, 108224). Grace’s efforts to copy Mobil were appreciably enhanced when the former’s catalytic expert, Dr. Baker, procured a copy of Mobil’s South African Patent (a counterpart to the ’249 patent in the United States) which fully disclosed much of the basic Mobil technology (PX-124; PX-132; Tr. 1820). Grace attempted to evaluate these newly disclosed methods and to duplicate them, but was unsuccessful (Tr. 2737). Having failed in this, they approached Mobil to explore the possibility that there might exist a mutuality of interest in the commercial field, since Grace’s skills and technology lay primarily in the fluid field and Mobil’s in the “bead form” or moving-bed field. Nothing ever materialized from these joint venture discussions and Grace then sought to negotiate a licensing-royalty arrangement (Tr. 2755), wherein Grace expressed a desire to license claims 9 and 11 of the ’249 patent (PX-728, tab 17). By November, 1965, Grace made preparations to produce its own commercial zeolite X catalyst (XZ-25), its Board of Directors appropriating and budgeting a substantial amount of corporate funds to construct a new plant. In so doing, it prepared preliminary cost estimates and the profit projections expected (PX-494-A) from such venture; and it priced its product to include the royalty rate being negotiated with Mobil. It was publicly acknowledged in the trade that the new product would be manufactured under a license from Mobil (PX-494, 107102). Representatives of Mobil and Grace orally concluded an agreement in December, 1965, based upon an agreed royalty of 12% (DX-TC), subject to the receipt of a draft agreement in which minor revisions might be made (Tr. 2874). However, in February, 1966, the Rabo patent issued relating to the use of the “Y” zeolite sieves in catalysts. Simultaneously with the happenirig of that event, Grace cooled on the pending agreement with Mobil and it was never executed. Grace concluded that the Mobil patent package was not as valuable as it had originally contemplated, because the Rabo patent might possibly dominate the area in which they desired protection. The ’357 patent application was filed May 17, 1962, and was finally granted after a favorable decision of the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals, Application of Plank, 399 F.2d 241, 55 C.C.P.A. 1400 (1968), which reversed an original denial by the Patent Office. It has since been held valid also in Mobil Oil Corp. v. Filtrol Corp. & Texaco, Inc., No. 69-633F, June 24, 1971 (C.D.Calif.) (Tr. 4546). The real difference between the ’357 patent and the ’249 and ’253 patents is that it incorporates the “Y” type zeolite. The chemical difference between these two synthetic zeolites is that in the “X” type zeolite the ratio of silica is two to three times that of alumina ; while in the “Y” type the ratio is a minimum of three up to six parts silica to one part alumina. These differences may be ascertained both by chemical analysis and x-ray analysis (Smith Tr. 1212; PX-547, tables A-D). The ’357 «teaches that the “Y” zeolite may be base-exchanged “substantially free of alkali metal” by treating it with the ion's referred to therein either before or after, or both before and after, the admixture with the matrix. The resulting composite has an alkali metal content below 3% and, preferably, below 2% (Col. 4, lines 33-37). Thus the “Y” zeolite can tolerate more residual sodium than the “X” zeolite and it is more stable under comparable conditions. The manufacture of these composites is taught by claims 7, 9, 10, 17, 19, and 20 in ’357. The commercial test results indicate a 20% increase in gasoline yield and a 65% reduction in coke (PX-618). All three of these patented catalysts produced synergistic results. The rare earth and rare earth hydrogen forms of the composite catalyst actually improved in activity and selectivity after being exposed to the heat and steam encountered in the oil cracking operations, whereas all prior catalysts decreased their activity and selectivity under similar conditions (Tr. 363-364; 603-508; 517-525). By incorporating the zeolite component into the silica-alumina matrix, the interaction of one with the other produced much greater catalytic activity of the zeolite component than when used separately. The composite catalyst achieved unexpected results (PX-738) both in its activity and yield and exceeded the performance of each when used separately. Furthermore, the octane rating of the gasoline produced was unexpectedly higher (Tr. 578-579). It is also significant to note that the matrix had an effect upon the heat balance of the catalyst as it went through the cracking and regenerative system. During the cycle which burns off the coke, the zeolite would get hotter than the matrix, so that by its being in the matrix the heat balance protected it. During the cracking process itself, an endotherm reaction occurs wherein heat is absorbed and the heat from the matrix is sucked up in the process of thermal exchange so as to turn the material particles. The interrelationship between the matrix and crystalline aluminosili-cate is more stable in the matrix and possesses greater activity (Tr. 599-601). Grace advertised in 1968 in one of its trade brochures: “The introduction of the Zeolite Catalysts some five years ago quickened the refiner’s art and science by enabling him to get up to ‘five quarts to the gallon’ in high octane gasoline output. Perhaps even more significantly, these valuable catalysts allowed refiners to boost their product output significantly without new capital investment for expanded facilities. “In effect, the advent of Zeolite Catalysts brought benefits and profits to the refinery that few of us could have imagined before 1960.” (PX-738, tab 3). Mobil promptly tested and commenced to produce commercially both the fluid forms and moving-bed forms of the newly developed catalyst. Texaco started using the fluid process in 1964 (Tr. 1860). In 1965, Mobil introduced the “Y” type moving-bed catalyst commercially under the tradename “Durabead 7” as beads and, in 1967, the D-9 fluid type powdered material was produced and marketed (PX-114). Since 1961, Mobil has used 80,000 tons in its own cracking plants (Tr. 1850-1853) and has sold approximately 40,000 tons, (worth about 29 million dollars) to its customers (Tr. 1851, 1857). In addition to this, Mobil claims that Grace has sold 130,000 tons, worth more than 50 million dollars (Tr. 2341; PX-494A, p. S-4). Mobil has also licensed several other manufacturers such as American Cynamid, Naleo, and Houdry and granted a use license to Standard Oil of New Jersey (Esso). Cynamid and Nal-eo are both paying a royalty of 8.4% to Mobil (DX-TE; DX-SR; Tr. 2821, 2087-2088; 3064). By 1969, Grace publicly acknowledged that the market acceptance of the Mobil type catalyst was almost universal when it said: “By 1969 approximately 85% of all refineries had converted to some kind of crystalline, molecular sieve-type catalyst.” (PX-738, tab 5, 116622). Validity of the Patents Patents lawfully issued by the United States Patent Office are by statute presumed to be valid, and the burden of establishing invalidity rests on the party asserting it. The crucial test of patentability is whether or not the invention would have been “obvious” at the time it was made to a person having ordinary skill in the technology to which the invention relates. In Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U. S. 1, 86 S.Ct. 684, 15 L.Ed.2d 545 (1966), the Supreme Court considered the public purpose served by the patent system, and emphasized that patents which fail to measure up to the requisite standard of patentable invention do not serve that purpose. 383 U.S. at 5-6, 86 S.Ct. 684. Congress has established a statutory standard of measure (35 U.S. C. § 103) to guide the determination of a patentable invention. It states in part: “A patent may not be obtained if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains.” The proper approach to be taken in applying this “nonobviousness” criterion of the foregoing statute was explained by the Supreme Court in the Graham case, 383 U.S. at 17, 86 S.Ct. at 694, when the Court said: “While the ultimate question of patent validity is one of law, A. & P. Tea Co. v. Supermarket Corp., [340 U.S. 147 at 155, 71 S.Ct. 127, 95 L.Ed. 162] the § 103 condition, which is but one of .three conditions, each of which must be satisfied, lends itself to several basic factual inquiries. Under § 103, the scope and content of the prior art are to be determined; differences between the prior art and the claims at issue are to be ascertained; and the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art resolved. Against this background, the obviousness or nonob-viousness of the subject matter is determined.” Thus, in determining patent validity, this Court must consider the prior status of the catalyst cracking art at the time of the inventions and determine whether the patents are simply a new assemblage of old elements. The Court of Appeals in this Circuit has made it clear that this “test should also apply to chemical compositions.” “If each such [chemical] combination, alleged to improve upon its predecessors, is to be patentable, and regarded as not the workaday product of those skilled in the art, the statute as interpreted by the Supreme Court in Graham v. John Deere Co. would, we think, be subverted, the definition of what constitutes invention would be greatly enlarged, and the public interest would suffer. . “Just what will be the exact proportions to supply the needs of particular products may require a large amount of experimentation. But this very experimentation is of the essence of the art involved in this lawsuit; it is on the level of ordinary skill in the art. This is all the more true because the practitioners of this art are, and of necessity must be highly educated, sophisticated persons who generally have at their disposal laboratory facilities and staffs of competent assistants. “We limit this ruling to the subject matter before us, as we must, but see no reason to doubt that the principles we have formulated may have a wider application, especially in the field of chemistry.” Indiana General Corp. v. Krystinel Corporation, 421 F.2d 1023, 1030-1031 (2d Cir. 1970). A patent can be just as fatally invalid for obviousness under § 103, as is a patent which is invalid for lack of novelty or anticipation under § 102. While the Patent Office may issue patents, because they are not squarely anticipated by the prior art, this is not the controlling standard in the courts. Carter-Wallace, Inc. v. Davis-Edwards Pharmacal Corp., 443 F.2d 867, 871, 872 (2d Cir. 1971). However, this Court is not unmindful that where intricate questions of chemistry are involved; which are peculiarly within the particular competence of the Patent Office, the presumption of validity should be weighed with great care. This is especially true where catalysts are involved, because of their known unpredictability under modified changes in their environmental use. “The catalytic action . . . can not be forecast by its chemical composition, for such action is not understood and is not known except by actual test.” Corona Cord Tire Co. v. Dovan Chemical Corp., 276 U.S. 358, 368-369, 48 S.Ct. 380, 383, 72 L.Ed. 610 (1928). The claims of the patents in suit are of three types: (1) claims to the new composite catalyst product (’249 claim 19; ’253 claim 19; ’357 claims 7, 9, 10 and 17); (2) claims to the method of manufacturing the catalyst product (’249 claim 1; '253 claims 23, 24, and 28; ’357 claims 19 and 20); (3) claims to a process of gas oil cracking by means of a new catalyst (’249 claim 15; ’253 claim 32). The claims expressed in the ’249 patent are basic; whereas, the ’253 and '357 patents disclose improved and preferred commercial forms. Summary of Patented Prior Art The prior art considered and relied upon by the defendant included the following: (1) Thomas (DX-AA), teaches that the removal of alkali metal ions improves catalytic activity, without specifying minimal percentages in any given situation; (2) Ahlberg (DX-AB) teaches the removal of the aforesaid metal ions improves the stability of the inorganic oxide gel as a catalyst; (3) Pitzer (DX-AC) teaches that the addition of lanthanum oxide (a rare earth metal) to a silica-magnesia catalyst improves its stability; (4) Schwartz (DX-AE) relates to the removal of alkali metal ions from the oxide gels by base-exchange and teaches that the addition of finely divided materials to the oxide gel component, either eatalytically active or inert, and of 1-5 microns in diameter, results in an improved attrition resistant catalyst and that such additives include cerium oxide (a rare earth); (5) Cramer (DX-AF) teaches that the addition of finely divided alumina to the oxide gel improves diffusivity; (6) Milton (DX-AG) teaches methods of making zeolite “X”, as a synthetic large pore crystalline aluminosilicate zeolite and ion exchanging the sodium with replacement ions (including rare earth) by conventional techniques; (7) Breck (DX-AH-1) relates to methods of making zeolite “Y,” a large pore crystalline aluminosili-cate, and teaches that it is more stable than zeolite “X”; (8) Milton and Breck (DX-AI) teach the use of synthetic large pore crystalline aluminosilicate zeolites as cracking catalysts, and that the removal of two-thirds of the sodium improves catalytic activity and selectivity; (9) Bourguet-Hart (DX-AK) relates to synthetic large pore aluminosili-cates as cracking catalysts and teaches the removal of 75% of the original metal alkali with rare earth ions; (10)(a) Rabo (DX-AL-2 and DX-AM-2) relates entirely to catalysts made with pure zeolite “Y” impregnated with platinum or palladium but with no matrix; (b) Rabo (DX-AM-1) relates to the REHY (rare earth hydrogen Y) zeolite as a catalyst and teaches the removal of alkali metals by base-exchange with poly-valent metal ions improves activity; (c) Rabo (DX-AL-1) relates to the use of decationized zeolite “Y” molecular sieve; (11) Fleck (DX-AN) teaches the use of an acid treated natural clay with a' faujasite or synthetic zeolite metallo alumino silicate, with the objective of absorbing the nitrogen impurities out of the feedstock. Grace claims that the subject matter claims in the ’249 patent were anticipated and were the logical outgrowth of the prior art and would have been obvious in the light thereof. Furthermore, that such differences as were shown to exist under the new patent claims were inconsequential. However, as early as 1948, Houdry, the pioneer commercial erack-ing catalyst manufacturer, had used some synthetic zeolites then available. It found that both the sodium and acid ammonium forms were unstable and quite useless, (Tr. 227-288), and these facts were published (PX-102). In 1957, Texaco in its patent No. 2,818,137 issued in 1957 (PX-365) warned the industry that while zeolites were useful for adsorption purposes, they would not tolerate thermal cracking regeneration temperatures (Tr. 3152-3154). Thus, as of January, 1957, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have expected such zeolites to decompose if subject to the severe temperature conditions encountered in commercial cracking units (Tr. 443-445). It was also common knowledge that, if zeolites were base-exchanged to the acid or ammonium form, they would “peptize” and become so small that they could not be effectively handled (Tr. 442-444; 2668-2671; (PX-140). Evidence of this is reflected in Fleck (DX-AN), wh