Appeal No. 1998-0556
Application No. 08/367,418
prior art subject matter in such a way as to result in an
applicant’s claimed subject matter and must provide a
reasonable expectation that the aforenoted modification would
be successful. In re O’Farrell, 853 F.2d 894, 903-04, 7
USPQ2d 1673, 1680-81 (Fed. Cir. 1988). As correctly indicated
by the appellants, the respective processes of Ward and
LaPierre involve two different types of dewaxing processes.
Specifically, the Ward reference is directed to a
hydrodewaxing process wherein ammonia is added to the reactor
in order to render the catalyst more selective for cracking
waxy components (e.g., see lines 3 through 14 in column 2 and
lines 57 through 60 in column 7). On the other hand, the
LaPierre reference is directed to a process for dewaxing
feedstocks “by isomerizing the waxy paraffins without
substantial cracking” by using as a catalyst zeolite beta
preferably in combination with a hydrogenation component such
as platinum (see lines 8 through 19 and especially lines 9 and
10 in column 2; emphasis added).
It is the examiner’s conclusion, as previously noted,
that it would have been obvious for an artisan with ordinary
skill “to have modified the process of Ward by utilizing a
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