Appeal No. 1997-2167
Application 08/137,444
Simply stated, the examiner has failed to present
objective evidence sufficient to cast doubt on the objective
truthfulness of appellants' assertions made in their
specification and on which they rely for enablement. It is
only after the examiner presents evidence which establishes
that one of ordinary skill in the art would reasonably doubt
the assertions made by appellants in their specification in
support of the enablement requirement of the statute that
appellants must rebut the position taken by the examiner.
As we have noted above, on balance, the evidence on which
the examiner has relied gives credence to the objective
truthfulness of appellants' representations rather than casts
doubt on them. Moreover, the examiner has improperly narrowly
construed appellants' claims as limited to the treatment of
Alzheimer's disease. Both the claims and appellants'
disclosure are directed generally to treating a type of memory
dysfunction in mammals characterized by decreased cholinergic
function. The very art on which the examiner relies suggests
that at the time appellants made their invention, AChE
inhibitors were generally recognized as a class of compounds
suitable for treating illness attributable to decreased
acetylcholine function, including Alzheimer's disease.
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