Appeal No. 2001-0172
Application 08/932,771
42, except that different titanium CG catalyst compositions are used and result in interpolymers
having different melt indexes. Such results appear to indicate that the different CG catalyst
compositions used each have a different reactivity since the polymerization parameters are the
same. Compare the disclosure in appellants’ specification at page 26, lines 28-33. In Example
102, terpolymers are prepared from ethylene, styrene and either butene or vinyl
benzocyclobutane.
Based on the disclosure of Stevens ‘815, we find that one of ordinary skill in this art
routinely following the teachings of the reference would have arrived at interpolymers having
different properties by using CG catalyst compositions having different reactivity, and thus,
would have practiced polymerization or interpolymerization processes resulting in polymers and
interpolymers having a melt index and a comonomer content that fall in each of the processes
specified in each of the steps of appealed claims 1 and 21. Indeed, not only are the CG catalysts
and activating cocatalysts of CG catalyst compositions having different reactivity common to
Stevens ‘815 and the appealed claims, as appellants acknowledge, but Stevens ‘815 also uses the
same Ziegler-Natta or Kaminsky-Sinn type polymerization conditions as disclosed by appellants
(specification, page 27, lines 15-18) to polymerize and interpolymerize the same monomers (id.,
e.g., page 5, lines 12-23, and page 6, lines 3-12) to obtain the same ethylene interpolymers
having a melt index, measured according to the same method set forth in the appealed claims,
falling within the melt index range specified in the appealed claims, and wherein the ethylene
interpolymers are disclosed to have substantially the same random comonomer distribution
within a given molecule and substantially the same ethylene/comonomer ratio between molecules
as disclosed and claimed by appellants, using the same common definitions provided in USP
3,645,992 (id., page 4, line 30, to page 5, line 23).
In view of this evidence, we determine that the interpolymers formed with CG catalysts
and activating cocatalysts in the CG catalyst compositions having different reactivity taught by
Stevens ‘815 differs from the claimed polymerization processes encompassed by appealed claims
1 and 21 in two ways. First, in that the processes of Stevens ‘815 do not form blends of the
interpolymers produced since there is no step of “combining” or “recovering a mixture” of
polymers and interpolymers individual prepared by processes using different CG catalyst
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