Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
DETAILED ACTION
Allowability indicated in the office action of October 28, 2024 is withdrawn after reviewing opinions of other Patent Offices submitted by IDS on October 9, 2025.
SPECIFICATION OBJECTION
Formula (XX) recited in para’ [0184] contain an illegible character (see page 21 of the instant PG Pub. US 2020/0172667 A1) and thus submission of a clear Formula (XX) is needed,
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-5, 7-12, 14-17, 19-32, 34, 73, 74, 76 and 77 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, because the specification, while being enabling for a crosslinking composition of claim 1 comprising a cross-linking compound comprising at least one reactive functional group which further comprise a cross-linking reaction additive recited in claim 11, does not reasonably provide enablement for a crosslinking composition of claim 1. The specification does not enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make the invention commensurate in scope with these claims.
The cross-linking compounds (I), (II) and (III) of claim 1 do not comprise any functional cross-linkable group with the recited organic aromatic polymers when A and Q are bond. R1, R2 and R3 are hydrogen and m and n are 0 or 1 with m+n being 1.
Thus, the claims are non-enabling as to the scope and breadth of claim since undue experimentation would be needed.
The followings are factors discussed in In re Wands, 858 F.2d 731, 737, 8 USPQ2d 1400, 1404 (Fed. Cir. 1988).
(A) The breadth of the claims: Very broad. The recited compounds (I), (II), and (III) of claim 1 comprise a reactive functional group such as -OH, NH2 and halide and a non-reactive functional group such as hydrogen and alkyl group.
(B) The nature of the invention: Very unique.
(C) The state of the art: Very limited and higher level of knowledge would be needed.
(D) The level of one of ordinary skill: Very high and at least a college degree and many years of experience would be needed.
(E) The level of predictability in the art: Unpredictable.
(F) The amount of direction provided by the inventor: Very limited.
(G) The existence of working examples: A single example 1 comprising PEEK, a cross-linking additive (i.e., lithium acetate dianhydride) and a compound (XI) of claim 4. The compound (XI) comprises at least reactive functional hydroxy groups which would require the cross-linking additive (i.e., lithium acetate dianhydride), but the most of compounds recited in claim 1 do not comprise a reactive functional group.
(H) The quantity of experimentation needed to make or use the invention based on the content of the disclosure: Many.
EXAMINER’S COMMENT
CN 102181001 A (Sep. 14, 2011) submitted by applicant teaches utilization of instantly recited compound (I) of claim 1 and compound (VI) of claim 2 as an initiator for polymerization of styrene and methyl methacrylate monomer in English abstract and [0012] of CN. The examiner does not see any motivation to utilize the compound taught by CN as a crosslinker for the recited organic aromatic polymers.
US 9,880,469 of the record teaches a compound (Ia) at col. 5 falling within scope of the instantly compound (II) of claim 1, it fails to teach or suggest utilization of the compound as a crosslinker for the recited aromatic polymers of claim 1.
Although Verma et al. (Synthesis of tri-block copolymers through reverse atom transfer radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate using polyurethane macroiniferter, Express Polymer Letters, vol. 2, no.8, July 9, 2008, pages 579-588) submitted by applicant teach the instant compound (II) of claim 1 and compound (IX) of claim 3 at page 581, Verma et al. fail to teach or suggest utilization of the compound as a crosslinker for the recited aromatic polymers of claim 1.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TAE H YOON whose telephone number is (571)272-1128. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Robert Jones can be reached at (571)270-7733. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/TAE H YOON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1762
Prosecution Insights