How does the enablement requirement apply to unstable or transitory chemical intermediates?

For unstable and transitory chemical intermediates, the enablement requirement is applied differently. According to MPEP 2164.01(b), “for unstable and transitory chemical intermediates, the ‘how to make’ requirement does not require that the applicant teach how to make the claimed product in stable, permanent or isolatable form.” This principle was established in the case of In re Breslow. This means that for such compounds, the patent application need not provide methods for creating a stable or isolatable form of the intermediate, as long as it enables a person skilled in the art to use the intermediate in the claimed invention.

To learn more:

• chemical intermediates
• unstable compounds
• transitory compounds
• enablement