Appeal No. 1997-3738
Application No. 08/469,741
Based upon the record before us, we agree with appellants
that the examiner has failed to establish a prima facie case
of obviousness. Accordingly, we reverse the rejections at
issue.
We would agree with the examiner, appellants' arguments
to the contrary notwithstanding, that it would have been prima
facie obvious within the context of 35 U.S.C. § 103 to use
the substituted peroxybenzoic acids of Brocklehurst in place
of the unsubstituted perbenzoic acid of Castrantas to obtain
the benefits suggested by Brocklehurst (Table I). We would
even agree with the examiner that it would have been prima
facie obvious, in the alternative, to combine a peroxygen
compound with a suitable bleach activator containing a
substituted benzoyl moiety to obtain the corresponding
peroxybenzoic acid in situ, as suggested by Castrantas (col.
3, l. 11-14, 61-4).
However, the examiner has not adequately explained why it
would have been obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art
to use a substituted BCL, in particular, as such an activator.
Answer.
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