Appeal No. 1997-2437
Application No. 08/230,378
use of cationic catalyst" (sentence bridging pages 2 and 3 of
Answer). From our understanding, it is the examiner's
rationale that it would have been obvious to form
polystyrenesulfonic acid by cationic polymerization of styrene
and, thereby, necessarily or inherently obtain the claimed
polystyrenesulfonic acid having indane ring terminals.
The flaw in the examiner's reasoning is that the examiner
has not established on this record that the mere cationic
polymerization of styrene, without more, necessarily produces
the claimed indane ring. First, as pointed out by appellants,
the examiner has not pointed to any references which disclose
a polystyrenesulfonic acid having an indane ring. Secondly,
appellants persuasively argue that "many different factors
dictate the end product of a polymerization process or
catalytic reaction, not merely the general type of catalytic
reaction utilized" (page 13 of Brief). Specifically,
appellants urge that "[f]actors which affect the outcome of
polymerization processes include by way of example the
specific catalysts, the reaction temperature and pressure, the
duration of reaction, the solvents used in the reaction
process, the concentration of the monomers contained in the
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