Appeal No. 1996-2734 Page 8
Application No. 08/133,680
materials of Schwartzkopf would have led one of ordinary skill
in the art to select structurally similar materials such as
hydroquinone, for example, for use therein. It is well
settled that a prima facie case of obviousness rises from the
motivation of one of ordinary skill in the art to use
structurally similar compounds for like purposes with the
expectation that compounds of similar structure will have
similar properties. After all, both appellants and
Schwartzkopf teach selecting and using their respective
reducing agent and weak acid components so as to reduce the
metal corrosive effects of their respective compositions.
Additionally, appellants have not convincingly refuted
the examiner’s implicit finding that one of ordinary skill in
the art would have understood that the weak acids of
Schwartzkopf are, in effect, reducing agents. Concerning2
this matter, appellants have not established with objective
evidence that the acids of Schwartzkopf would not act as
See the definitions of acid and reduce at pages 8,9 and 500 of Grant &2
Hackh’s Chemical Dictionary, 5th Ed. (1987), a copy of which is attached to
this decision.
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