Appeal No. 1997-1903
Application No. 08/229,118
The examiner relies upon the following references as
evidence of obviousness:
Heywood et al. (Heywood) 1,067,033 Apr. 26, 1967
(Great Britain patent specification)
Esposito 4,332,613 Jun. 1, 1982
Appellants' claimed invention is directed to a herbicidal
mixture of bromoxynil n-octanoate and bromoxynil n-heptanoate.
According to appellants, the claimed mixture possesses an
unexpectedly lower melting point than the melting point of
either of the separate compounds, a significantly lower
crystallization temperature than that exhibited by either of
the separate compounds, as well as unexpected superiority in
herbicidal activity.
Appealed claims 1-4, 7-23 and 28-32 stand rejected under
35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Heywood in
combination with Esposito.
Upon careful consideration of the opposing arguments
presented on appeal, we agree with appellants that the prior
art applied by the examiner fails to establish the obviousness
of the claimed subject matter within the meaning of 35 U.S.C.
§ 103. Accordingly, we will not sustain the examiner's
rejection.
-3-
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007