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 .
The previous prior art rejection under Treece et al (US 20130029068 in view of Garriga et al (US
20180194117) and Treece in view of Garriga and further in view of Shell Tung et al (US 6025405),
maintained.
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.
Claims 5, 7, 14 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Treece et al
(US 20130029068), cited in IDS and previous Office Action in view of Garriga et al (US 20180194117), cited in previous Office Action.
Claims 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Treece in view of
Garriga as applied to claims 5, 7, 14 and 18 above, and further in view of Shell Tung et al (US 6025405)
cited in previous Office Action.
Amendment to claims 5 and 7-9 are noted.
The rejection can be found in the FINAL office action mailed 7/28/2025 and is herein
incorporated by reference
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 6/18/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant states that Treece's EG range falls entirely within Garriga's disclosed range, where is no motivation to modify the reference in order to achieve bending or 9-kinking resistance.
Examiner disagrees. Garriga discloses that 2, 2, 4, 4 – tetramethyl 1,3 -cyclobutanediol - modified polyesters is resistant against bending and kinking under mechanical load (see 0007). Thus, addition of such component increases bending or 9-kinking resistance.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GREGORY LISTVOYB whose telephone number is (571)272-6105. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-5pm EST M-F.
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, Heidi Riviere Kelley can be reached at (571) 270-1831. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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GL
/GREGORY LISTVOYB/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1765
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