Ex Parte Bennett et al - Page 7

                Appeal 2007-0072                                                                             
                Application 09/945,861                                                                       

                knowledge in the arts that oligomerization and polymerization of ethylene                    
                can be simultaneously performed.  Indeed, this person would have found                       
                Brookhart’s diimine complex catalysts form alpha-olefin oligomers which                      
                Sugimura employs as starting materials for forming polyolefins with diimine                  
                complex catalyst containing olefin polymerization catalyst compositions.                     
                We appreciate the structural differences between the diimine complex                         
                catalysts of Sugimura and Brookhart argued by Appellants.  Nonetheless, we                   
                are of the opinion there is sufficient structural similarity between these                   
                catalysts that the combined teachings of the references would have                           
                reasonably suggested to one of ordinary skill in this art that Brookhart’s                   
                diimine complex catalysts would be compatible with the catalyst ingredients                  
                of Sugimura’s diimine complex catalyst containing catalyst compositions.                     
                Thus, this person would have incorporated Brookhart’s compound into                          
                Sugimura’s composition in the reasonable expectation of forming in situ the                  
                alpha-olefin starting materials for Sugimura’s polymerization processes to                   
                obtain the polyolefin compositions taught by Sugimura.                                       
                      Therefore, one of ordinary skill in this art routinely following the                   
                combined teachings of Sugimura and Brookhart would have reasonably                           
                arrived at the claimed polymerization catalyst components encompassed by                     
                claim 1, as we interpreted this claim above, without recourse to Appellants’                 
                Specification.  See, e.g., KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 127 S. Ct. 1727,                 
                1739-40, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395-96 (2007) (a patent claiming a                                 
                combination of elements known in the prior art is obvious if the                             
                improvement is no more than the predictable use of the prior art elements                    
                according to their established functions); In re Kahn, 441 F.3d 977, 985-88,                 


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