Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 17/281,549

COPOLYMER-CONTAINING BINDER AND ELECTROCHEMICAL DEVICE CONTAINING SAME

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Aug 28, 2023
Examiner
HEINCER, LIAM J
Art Unit
1767
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Ningde Amperex Technology Limited
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
56%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 3m
To Grant
81%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 56% of resolved cases
56%
Career Allow Rate
783 granted / 1412 resolved
-9.5% vs TC avg
Strong +26% interview lift
Without
With
+25.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 3m
Avg Prosecution
89 currently pending
Career history
1501
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.7%
-39.3% vs TC avg
§103
49.8%
+9.8% vs TC avg
§102
22.4%
-17.6% vs TC avg
§112
14.4%
-25.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1412 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
DETAILED ACTION 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. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale , or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim s 1 2 - 14 and 19-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Miyata et al. (US 2012/0231337) . Considering Claim 1 2 : Miyata et al. teaches a copolymer containing binder comprising a random propylene copolymer 50 to 85 weight percent of propylene and 15 to 50 weight percent of a comonomer (¶0063) and having a crystallinity of less than 30% (¶0058). Considering Claim 13 : Miyata et al. teaches the comonomer as being ethylene in an example (Example 5). Considering Claim 14 : Miyata et al. teaches the weight average molecular weight as being 50 ,000 to 500,000 (¶0062). Considering Claim 19 : Miyata et al. teaches the binder as having a swelling degree of 10% in an electrolytic solution (Table 1). Considering Claim 20 : Miyata et al. teaches an electrochemical device comprising an electrode plate comprising the binder (¶0012). Considering Claim 21 : Miyata et al. teaches the electrode plate as comprising a metal collector and an electrode (¶0011). The Office realizes that all of the claimed effects or physical properties are not positively stated by the reference(s). However, the reference(s) teaches all of the claimed ingredients, in the claimed amounts, and teaches the composition as being made by a substantially similar process. The original specification does not provide any disclosure on how to obtain the claimed properties outside the components of the composition itself. Therefore, the claimed effects and physical properties, i.e. the bonding force, would necessarily arise from a composition with all the claimed ingredients in the claimed amounts. "Products of identical chemical composition can not have mutually exclusive properties." In re Spada, 911 F.2d 705, 709, 15 USPQ2d 1655, 1658 (Fed. Cir. 1990). A chemical composition and its properties are inseparable. Therefore, if the prior art teaches the identical chemical structure, the properties applicant discloses and/or claims are necessarily present. If it is the applicant’s position that this would not be the case: (1) evidence would need to be provided to support the applicant’s position; and (2) it would be the Office’s position that the application contains inadequate disclosure that there is no teaching enabling a person of ordinary skill in the art to obtain the claimed properties with only the claimed ingredients, absent undue experimentation. Considering Claim 22 : Miyata et al. teaches a battery/electronic device comprising the electrochemical device (¶0211-13). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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: 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. This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. Claims 15-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miyata et al. (US 2012/0231337) as applied to claim 12 above . Considering Claims 15-17 : Miyata et al. teaches the adhesive of claim 1 as shown above. Miyata et al. teaches the composition as comprising the copolymer, polyvinyl alcohol/a non-ionic emulsifier, a polyether modified silicone surfactant/defoamer, and water (Table 2). Miyata et al. does to teach the specific ranges claimed. Generally, differences in concentration or temperature will not support the patentability of subject matter encompassed by the prior art unless there is evidence indicating such concentration or temperature is critical. "[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation." In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955) . As the amount of polymer and emulsifiers in the composition would control the emulsion stability, a person of ordinary skill in the art would recognize the concentrations as being a result effective variable. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have optimized the amount of the components through routine experimentation, and the motivation to do so would have been to control the emulsion stability of the adhesive. Considering Claim 18 : Miyata et al. teaches the adhesive of claim 1 as shown above. Miyata et al. is silent towards the viscosity of the adhesive. However, as Miyata et al. includes a viscosity modifying agent, the reference recognizes the viscosity as being a critical feature of the adhesive. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have optimized the viscosity through routine experimentation, and the motivation to do so would have been to allow for the adhesive to flow during application to substrate. Correspondence Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT LIAM J HEINCER whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-3297 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT M-F 7:30-5:00 . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Mark Eashoo can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-272-1197 . 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. /LIAM J HEINCER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1767
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Aug 28, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 16, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12600849
Super Absorbent Polymer Film and Preparation Method Thereof
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12600667
GLASS SHEET FOR CHEMICAL STRENGTHENING, MANUFACTURING METHOD OF STRENGTHENED GLASS SHEET, AND GLASS SHEET
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12595320
METHOD OF CONTROLLING ALPHA-OLEFIN CONDENSATION IN ABSORPTION MEDIA DURING POLYOLEFIN PRODUCTION
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12589377
ENCAPSULATED COMPOSITION COMPRISING CORE-SHELL MICROCAPSULES AND PROCESS FOR ITS PREPARATION
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Patent 12590114
METHOD OF MAKING A BINDER COMPOSITION, AND BINDER COMPOSITION
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

AI Strategy Recommendation

Get an AI-powered prosecution strategy using examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Powered by AI — typically takes 5-10 seconds

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
56%
Grant Probability
81%
With Interview (+25.7%)
3y 3m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1412 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month