Appeal No. 94-3359
Application 07/941,566
The examiner's interpretation of the phrase "a group which leaves
an -OH residue when contacted with an alkali" as meaning
contacting with "an element such as lithium, sodium or potassium"
is simply not a reasonable interpretation of the claims in view
of the state of the art. See for example column 2, lines 18
through 21 of Schuler wherein it is disclosed in part that:
The acyl protecting groups are
preferably removed by alkaline
alcoholysis in an inert atmosphere...
Moreover, at page 7 of appellants' disclosure it is disclosed
that:
Z preferably represents a group which is
cleavable to OH on contact with an
alkali solution, generally having a pH
of at least 10, at temperatures of up to
about 50E.
To suggest that appellants recommend by the above disclosure
adding elemental sodium, lithium or potassium to water is
unreasonable and unpersuasive. Elemental sodium, for example,
decomposes water on contact generating hydrogen and sodium
hydroxide, and, therefore, must be stored under a solvent, such
as mineral oil, which excludes moisture and oxygen. More
importantly, the term "alkali" has been used to denominate
solutions having pH's greater than 7.0. Indeed, "alkali" is
defined in "The Condensed Chemical Dictionary", 10th Edition, at
page 31 as:
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