Appeal No. 1997-1821
Application No. 08/460,023
and the subsequent chlorine gas can chlorinate the methyl group of
1,1,1-trifluoroethane to form 1,1,1-trifluoro-2-chloroethane (col.
1, ll. 32-41). Accordingly, we determine that the examiner has
not shown any evidence of a reasonable expectation of success
when using HCl as a reactant with the acyclic saturated compounds
recited in claim 1 on appeal, all of which have at least
one hydrogen atom which could be replaced by chlorine.
Furthermore, the examiner has not submitted any evidence that
dehydrofluorination is applicable to a “wide range of ethane
derivatives” (Answer, page 5), much less the specific halogenated
ethane derivatives required by claim 1 on appeal.
Additionally, the examiner has failed to establish any
convincing motivation for one of ordinary skill in this art to
employ the halogenated ethane derivatives of claim 1 on appeal as
the starting materials in the process of Elsheikh. Even assuming
arguendo that the starting materials of the claims on appeal are
“well known commercially available compounds,” the examiner has
failed to establish the desirability of using the presently
claimed starting materials to produce the corresponding unsaturated
products of the Elsheikh process. See In re Brouwer, 77 F.3d 422,
425-26, 37 USPQ2d 1663, 1666 (Fed. Cir. 1996); In re Ochiai,
71 F.3d 1565, 1570, 37 USPQ2d 1127, 1131 (Fed. Cir. 1995); and
5
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007