Appeal No. 1999-0663
Application 08/624,047
exchanger tubes in a fluidized bed wherein ethylene
oxychlorination is carried out is avoided only by selecting the
appellants’ recited K/Cu and K/Mg ratios and keeping the absolute
concentration of K low (brief, page 8; specification, page 3,
lines 9-21). For a prima facie case of obviousness to be
established, however, the prior art need not be directed toward
solving the problem addressed by the appellants. See In re
Kemps, 97 F.3d 1427, 1430, 40 USPQ2d 1309, 1311 (Fed. Cir. 1996);
In re Beattie, 974 F.2d 1309, 1312, 24 USPQ2d 1040, 1042 (Fed.
Cir. 1992); In re Dillon, 919 F.2d 688, 693, 16 USPQ2d 1897, 1901
(Fed. Cir. 1990) (en banc), cert. denied, 500 U.S. 904 (1991); In
re Lintner, 458 F.2d 1013, 1016, 173 USPQ 560, 562 (CCPA 1972).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill
in the art to carry out Scott’s ethylene oxychlorination process
using the entire ranges of components disclosed by Scott,
including the portions of these ranges which overlap those of the
appellants.
The appellants argue that soiling must have occurred in
Scott’s examples because otherwise Scott would have disclosed the
lack of soiling (brief, page 8). This is mere speculation. It
would be just as reasonable to conclude that because Scott did
not disclose soiling, there was none.
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