Appeal No. 96-3019
Application No. 08/386,136
Sezi may be COOR, and wherein R may be alkyl among a limited
number of choices. The species wherein R is tertiary butyl
ester is not specifically disclosed by either Sebald or Sezi.
We rely on Ito(‘628) for its disclosure of carboxylic
acid t-butyl ester groups as preferred labile groups in resist
compositions. See Ito(‘628) abstract, column 3, line 2, and
Example 5. It would have been obvious to the person having
ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made
to have used carboxylic acid t-butyl ester groups as the
specific ester in the anhydride containing copolymer of Sebald
or Sezi, as Ito(‘628) discloses that it is a preferred
functional group in resist compositions. Accordingly, a prima
facie case of obviousness is established by the combination of
the Sebald or Sezi references with Ito(‘628).
As a rebuttal to the prima facie case of obviousness,
appellants rely on the Conference Report by Leuschner. See
Exhibit A attached to the Brief. Appellants argue that the
improvements provided by the Conference Report, “could not be
expected and was completely surprising to those skilled in the
art.” See Brief, page 7. Having reviewed the data present in
the conference report, we conclude that appellants have not
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