Appeal No. 1996-2537
Application No. 08/102,654
fluoronojirimycin compounds of Getman are similar in chemical
structure and have a similar property, namely, glycosidase
inhibition activity. Accordingly, the replacement of heptyl
with butyl in Legler’s N-heptyl DGJ would have been obvious to
a person having ordinary skill in the art, because that
person would have had a reasonable expectation that non-
alkylated DGJ and N-alkyl-DGJ compounds where the alkyl group
has 1 to about 10
carbon atoms would have similar properties. “An obviousness
rejection based on similarity in chemical structure and
function entails the motivation of one skilled in the art to
make a
claimed compound, in the expectation that compounds similar in
structure will have similar properties.” In re Payne, 606
F.2d 303, 313, 203 USPQ 245, 254 (CCPA 1979).
F. However, the evidence in this record addresses the
thrust of the rejection and rebuts the examiner’s prima facie
case of obviousness. Appellants argue that they have found
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