In re Ward

This is an appeal from the decision of the Board of Appeals of the United States Patent Office, affirming the rejection by the Primary Examiner of claims, 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 13 to 17, inclusive, of appellants’ application for a patent on a method of detecting flaws in a test body, and a testing agent for use in such method. Claims 1 and 13 are illustrative and read:

1. The method, of detecting in a test body subsurface flaws having surface openings, comprising the steps of applying to the surface of the body a water-emulsifiable testing agent having a color contrasting with the surface…