Appeal No. 1997-4099
Application No. 08/345,343
The statement of rejection includes the Mitsubishi, Morita, Welch, Arzoumanidis,
and Matsuura references. These references were included in the rejection for the
proposition that the prepolymerization of a catalyst is well known to those skilled in the art.
(Examiner’s Answer, paragraph bridging pages 3 to 4). The prepolymerization of a catalyst
would not have led to the claimed invention because the prepolymerization of a catalyst
does not address the deficiencies of Kondo and Hoff stated above. The rejection of claims
12 and 14-21 as unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. § 103 is reversed.
Since we reverse for the lack of the presentation of a prima facie case of
obviousness by the examiner, we need not reach the issue of the sufficiency of the evidence
as allegedly demonstrating unexpected results. See In re Geiger, 815 F.2d 686, 688, 2
USPQ2d 1276, 1278 (Fed. Cir. 1987).
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