Appeal No. 1996-2357
Application 08/124,617
“R to R are the same or different and represent H, C - C1 4 1 12
5 5
alkyl, C - C aryl, CH OR , CH COOR and CH OH”. The claim then6 10 2 2 2
1 2 3 4
states, “or, wherein the R , R , R and R radicals are bonded
to one or more carbocyclic rings with 3 to 7 C atoms.” As
indicated by the “or”, the second statement is an alternative
1 4
to the definition, but does not define R to R . Instead, it
1 4
merely states what R to R are bonded to. Because the second
statement is an
1 4
alternative to the definition and does not define R to R , the
claim is indefinite.
Also, in view of appellants’ disclosure, the meaning of
“bonded to one or more carbocyclic rings with 3 to 7 C atoms”
1 4
is not clear. If R to R can be bonded to one or more
carbocyclic rings, then since the term “carbocyclic rings”
includes aromatic rings, it appears that the group to the2
right of the disulfide linkage in the structure in appellants’
claim 3 may be the alkoxy-substituted aryl group in Bögemann’s
formula (col. 2, line 5). However, to get from the generic
2 See The Condensed Chemical Dictionary 193 (Van Nostrand
Reinhold, 10th ed. 1981).
-5-5
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