Ex parte MATVIYA et al. - Page 11




          Appeal No. 1997-1536                                                        
          Application 08/342,817                                                      



          "formal oxidation number" is indefinite and unclear "since the              
          assignment of formal oxidation number can be subjective and/or              
          arbitrary." Appellants' response to the examiner's stated                   
          position is found on page 5 of their brief wherein they urge:               
               Applicants contend that the assignment of formal                       
               oxidation numbers is neither subjective nor arbitrary.                 
               The assignment follows a set of self-consistent rules                  
               well known to those skilled in the chemical arts.                      
          However, neither the examiner's stated position nor                         
          appellants' response to the examiner's position aid us in our               
          determination of the issue raised, that is, what are the metes              
          and bounds of claim 5.                                                      
               At page 5 of their specification, appellants disclose                  
          urea as exemplary of the "inexpensive, abundant, and                        
          relatively non-toxic nitrogen-containing compound" used in the              
          claimed process. In Example 1, urea is utilized.  In Example                
          2, urea is utilized. In Example 3, urea was utilized.  No                   
          other nitrogen-containing compounds are disclosed or even                   
          suggested by appellants.  Does the claim terminology include                
          pyridine, phenylenediamine, hydrazine,                                      
          ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid or nitro benzene?  We are                   
          simply left to conjecture what is intended by the terminology               
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