Ex Parte Haas et al - Page 12


                Appeal 2007-2985                                                                             
                Application 010/669,978                                                                      
           1    metal or an amine with a pkB of less that 4.5.  This line of argument is highly              
           2    peculiar in this case because Tsao does not say that its aqueous solutions                   
           3    have an alkali metal, an alkaline earth metal or an amine with a pkB of less                 
           4    that 4.5.  So it is not clear to us why Haas insists that the Examiner had to                
           5    prove that Tsao "inherently" would not have an alkali metal, an alkaline                     
           6    earth metal or an amine with a pkB of less that 4.5.                                         
           7          Another argument which appears throughout the prosecution is that                      
           8    "commercial" hydrogen peroxide solutions have high amounts of alkali                         
           9    metal ions and/or amines.  But, the claims are not limited to "commercial"                   
          10    hydrogen peroxide solutions.  Nor do the claims require that the hydrogen                    
          11    peroxide be made by the anthraquinone process.  Haas bottoms the                             
          12    "commercial" and "made by anthraquinone process" argument on limitations                     
          13    which do not appear in the claims.  Hence, we find these arguments to be                     
          14    entitled to little, if any, weight.                                                          
          15          In the Examiner's Answer, the Examiner found (for the first time                       
          16    during the prosecution) that certain compounds were present in the Tsao                      
          17    compositions in amounts called for by the claims.  Examiner's Answer 4.                      
          18    Haas in the Reply Brief presents some calculations hoping to establish that                  
          19    the Examiner is wrong.  There was no Supplemental Examiner's Answer so                       
          20    we were basically left with no views from the Examiner on the Haas                           
          21    calculations.  However, given our rationale for affirmance, which differs                    
          22    from the rationale used by the Examiner to reject, we need not consider                      
          23    whether the Haas calculations answer the Examiner's findings.  The portion                   
          24    of Tsao upon which we rely does not describe the presence of alkali metals                   
          25    or alkaline earth metals.                                                                    


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