Ex parte FORGIONE et al. - Page 3




          Appeal No. 1997-2196                                                        
          Application No. 08/138,581                                                  


               The claims stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as                     
          follows: claims 1-18 and 21 over Stern or Henry, and claims                 
          19, 20 and 22-37 over Fukuoka.                                              
                                       OPINION                                        
               We have carefully considered all of the arguments                      
          advanced by appellants and the examiner and agree with                      
          appellants that the aforementioned rejections are not well                  
          founded.  Accordingly, we reverse these rejections.                         
               The examiner argues that the applied references disclose               
          reacting amines, in the presence of metal promoters as a                    
          catalyst, with carbon dioxide or with carbon dioxide and a                  
          hydroxy compound, that the claims differ from the references                
          only in that a different amine is used as the starting                      
          material, and that one of ordinary skill in the art would have              
          expected appellants’ amines and those in the references to                  
          react similarly (answer, pages 3-4).  This argument is not                  
          well taken because, although appellants have challenged the                 
          argument (brief, page 4; reply brief, pages 2-3),  the1                          
          examiner has provided no supporting evidence which establishes              


               This argument relies, in part, upon Smolin.1                                                                     
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