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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
1. A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 18 May 2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
2. Applicant’s arguments, see page 8, line 12, filed 18 May 2026, with respect to the rejection of Claims 1-4 and 15-17 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kunitsky et al. (United States Patent Publication No. US 2008/0167433 A1), hereinafter Kunitsky; have been fully considered and, in light of the claim amendments made, are persuasive. The rejection of Claims 1-4 and 15-17 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) has been withdrawn.
3. Applicant’s arguments, see page 8, line 12, filed 18 May 2026, with respect to the rejection of Claims 1-4 and 15-17 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kunitsky et al. (United States Patent Publication No. US 2008/0167433 A1), hereinafter Kunitsky; have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant’s argument is focused on the argument that Kunitsky fails to teach wherein the glycidyloxy group is at the *para* position. Each of the experimental examples of Kunitsky teach the glycidyloxy group is at the para position, Paragraphs [0114-0128]. The general structure of Paragraph [0038] of Kunitsky (below) states: “wherein R1, R2, R3, R4, and R5 are glycidyloxy, H, OCH3, OH, OR8, or linear or branched alkyl, aryl, halo, or cyano; R6 and R7 are H, halo, or cyano; R8 is linear or branched alkyl or aryl; provided that at least one of R1, R2, R3, R4, or R5 is glycidyloxy.”
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As one can clearly see, the glycidyloxy group is taught in the para position, i.e. R3, relative to the ethylene group which becomes part of the polymer backbone following polymerization. Herein, R1, R2, R5, and R4 of Kunitsky would correspond to Ra, Rb, Rc, and Rd of the present application, respectively. Thus, Ra, Rb, Rc, and Rd, using the moiety descriptions of the present application, are taught as being within the scope of the claims of the present application, most importantly Rb and Rd of the present application are taught as being halogen. Examiner will further note that while there may not be experimental example of Kunitsky within the scope of the claims of the present application, neither does the present application have a single experimental example within the scope of the claims of the present application. Thus, Applicant’s argument is not persuasive and the rejection of record is maintained.
Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
5. A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
6. Claims 1-4 and 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kunitsky et al. (United States Patent Publication No. US 2008/0167433 A1), hereinafter Kunitsky.
7. Regarding Claims 1-4 and 15-17, Kunitsky teaches (Paragraph [0038], Claim 1) a polymer of formula (I). Kunitsky teaches (Paragraph [0038], Claim 1) each of Ra and Rc, each of Ra0-Rc0, each of Ra1-Rd1, and each of Ra2-Rd2 are hydrogen (H) and each of Rb and Rd are a halogen. Kunitsky teaches (Paragraph [0038], Claim 1) wherein n and n0 of Formula (I) of the present application are each independently a number from 0 to 20 and n + n0 of Formula (I) of the present application is a number from 24 to 36. Kunitsky teaches (Paragraph [0038], Claim 1) wherein n1 and n2 of Formula (I) of the present application are each independently a number from 0 to 2 and/or n1 + n2 of Formula (I) of the present application is a number from 0 to 3.
8. A person having ordinary skill in the art would understand that each element of the polymer claimed herein, although not necessarily in a single experimental example, one of ordinary skill in the art could simply substitute a monomer within the scope of the present application for one of the experimental examples of Kunitsky by known methods and the result of this simple substitution were predictable.
Conclusion
9. Any inquiry concerning this communication should be directed to RICHARD D CHAMPION at telephone number (571) 272-0750. The examiner can normally be reached on 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Mon-Fri EST.
10. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, KEITH D HENDRICKS can be reached at (571) 272-1401. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
11. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://portal.uspto.gov/external/portal. Should you have questions about access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
12. 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.
/Keith D. Hendricks/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1733
/R.D.C./Examiner, Art Unit 1737
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