Appeal No. 94-1451
Application 07/839,640
groups, these materials are contemplated for use in the Stern
composition.
Based on the above, the examiner correctly determined that
the Stern disclosure meets every limitation of the instantly
claimed invention with the exception of the identity of a
trivalent chromium crosslinker. The examiner points out that
Stern does suggest the use of hexavalent chromium crosslinkers,
and the examiner further contends that a person of ordinary skill
in the art was aware that chromium crosslinking may be effected
by reducing hexavalent chromium to trivalent chromium. Thus the
examiner persuasively argues that a person of ordinary skill in
the art, familiar with the environmental concerns and laws which
prohibit hexavalent chromium salts from being injected into the
earth, would have been motivated to use a hexavalent chromium
system combined with a redox system, thus to effectively produce
a trivalent chromium crosslinker in Stern’s composition. See the
Answer at page 3.
Appellant has not challenged the examiner’s factual
assertions or rationale regarding the use of a hexavalent
chromium redox system in the composition of Stern. What counsel
for appellant contends is that a skilled artisan would realize
that trivalent chromium crosslinking agents are not capable of
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