Appeal No. 1998-3158
Application No. 08/467,634
groups of a $-hydroxyalkylamide which is separate from fibers
which do not appear to be cellulosic fibers and which are not
disclosed as containing hydroxyl groups. The examiner argues
that cellulose is a polyol (answer, page 6), but has not
established that Welch would have led one of ordinary skill in
the art to use the disclosed catalyst for esterification
reactions generally or for Arkens’ esterification reaction in
particular. The properties obtained by Welch, it is noted,
which are wrinkle resistance and smooth drying properties of
fabrics used for garments, do not appear to be useful
properties of Arkens’ nonwoven fabric which is for
applications such as making roofing shingles (col. 1, lines
13-33), is heat resistant (col. 6, lines 17-22), and is
subjected to curing temperatures as high as about 400EC (col.
6, lines 28-29). The examiner argues that Arkens’ teaching
that “[i]t is not necessary to employ a catalyst to effect
curing” (col. 6, lines 32-33) indicates that a catalyst can be
used if desired to accelerate the reaction (answer, pages 4-
5). Even if this argument is correct, however, it is not
adequate because, in order for a prima facie case of
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