Appeal No. 2006-2378 Page 8
Application No. 10/433,388
Turning to the references, we see nothing suggesting to the artisan of ordinary
skill that the order of steps in WO ‘372 could or should be reversed. WO ‘372’s
explanation of the synthesis steps, at pages 2-4, discusses first amidating the nitro
starting material to produce a nitro intermediate, and then reducing the nitro
intermediate by hydrogenation to obtain the final amine compound. As argued by
Appellants (Brief, page 10), page 4 of WO ‘372 discusses several advantages of the
disclosed process, including improved yield, reduced reaction times, and a reduction in
the amount of amine required in the amidating step. IWO ‘372 does not suggest any
advantage or equivalence of reversing the order of the amidating and reducing steps.
The examiner urges that JP ‘211 “also teaches that nitro can be reduced first to
amino compound, see page 3, column 3.” Answer, page 4. We agree that JP ‘211
demonstrates that nitro isophthalic acid esters can be reduced to produce amino
isophthalic acid esters, i.e., compound (V), the starting material in claim 1. See JP ‘211
at paragraph [0004] (“5-amino isophthalic acid dimethyl (5AIPM) has been obtained
[from] 5NIPM(s) by the catalytic reduction in ordinary pressure to the pan.”)
However, the examiner has pointed to nothing in any of the cited references that
suggests amidating the compounds of formula (V) disclosed in JP ‘211 by the method
recited in claim 1. We have reviewed the references but see nothing that suggests that
the compounds of formula (V) disclosed by JP ‘211 would be suitable in the processes
disclosed in WO ‘372.
In this regard, Appellants point out that “compounds of Formula V contain a
primary amino group and two ester groups, which in theory could be expected to react
intermolecularly, giving rise to oligomeric derivatives.” Brief, page 14; see also, Anelli
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