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
3
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