Patent ID: 6903197

Claim:
A process for preparing copper complex dyes of the formula IX, or mixtures thereof: wherein at least one of M 1 and M 2 is copper (II) and any which is not is hydrogen or methyl, and X is hydrogen, which comprises: (1) preparing an azoxy dye of the formula wherein R 1 is selected from the group consisting of methoxy, hydroxyl and carboxyl, by a process which comprises coupling a coupling component of the formula IV wherein R 2 is selected from the group consisting of carboxyl, amino, C 1 -C 4 -alkylamino, allylamino, benzylamino and methoxycarbonylmethylamino, and the phenyl rings A may additionally be substituted by C 1 -C 8 -alkyl, unsubstituted or methyl- or halogen-substituted phenyl, hydroxyl, amino, nitro, halogen, carboxyl, N-benzylcarbamoyl, unsubstituted or nitro-, halogen-, C 1 -C 4 -alkoxy- or acetoxy-substituted phenylcarbamoyl and naphthylcarbamoyl or be benzofused, with nitroaniline of the formula V reducing the resultant nitro monoazo dye, and deacylating in aqueous solution at pH<9; and (2) reacting the dye obtained in (1) with at least 0.1 mol equivalent of a copper donor.