Appeal No. 95-1641
Application No. 07/825,927
the examiner that the examples in the Yamauchi reference
constitute “large scale” processes within the meaning of the
claims. Even if we were to interpret “large scale” to mean
“commercial-scale” as appears to be asserted by appellants
(see Brief, page 16), our conclusion would remain the same
since the Yamauchi reference suggests that its process can be
employed on “a commercial scale”. See column 3, lines 32-33.
Note also that appellants acknowledge the existence of “prior
art large scale processes”. See Brief, page 13.
In spite of the fact that the Yamauchi reference, a U.S.
patent, is entitled to a statutory presumption of validity and
that an enabling disclosure is a prerequisite to validity
under 35 U.S.C. § 112, first paragraph (Cf. In re Spence, 261
F.2d 244, 246, 120 USPQ 82, 83 (CCPA 1958)), appellants take
the position that the Yamauchi reference is not enabling with
respect to a large scale process. In support of their
position, appellants refer to page 4-21 of Perry’s Chemical
Engineer’s Handbook (6th ed.), which is said to provide:
It has been generally accepted that the design of a
commercial-scale chemical reactor, which is the
heart of a chemical plant, cannot be accomplished by
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