Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 04, 2026
Application No. 17/701,583

POLYMERS AND CO-POLYMERS FOR POLYMER MATRIX COMPOSITES AND HIGH YIELD CARBON-CARBON COMPOSITE STRUCTURES THEREFROM

Final Rejection §102
Filed
Mar 22, 2022
Priority
Mar 22, 2021 — provisional 63/164,448
Examiner
KELLEY, HEIDI RIVIERE
Art Unit
1765
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Mississippi State University
OA Round
4 (Final)
16%
Grant Probability
At Risk
5-6
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
38%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants only 16% of cases
16%
Career Allowance Rate
44 granted / 272 resolved
-48.8% vs TC avg
Strong +21% interview lift
Without
With
+21.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
4y 1m
Avg Prosecution
24 currently pending
Career history
312
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
12.0%
-28.0% vs TC avg
§103
41.4%
+1.4% vs TC avg
§102
19.9%
-20.1% vs TC avg
§112
22.8%
-17.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 272 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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. Claims 1,6,7,9 and 14 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by the Tesfaye thesis. Tesfaye (page 31) polymerizes a BODA of “X” being -O- and “R” being phenyl with a MODA. Claims 4 and 5 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Tesfaye does not suggest alkyls as applicant’s “R”. Babb does not suggest the MODA having aryl or phenyl as Y and Y’. Applicant's arguments filed 6/18/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues the Tesfaye thesis no longer qualifies as prior art in view of the Rule 130 declaration. The declaration (item 4) states Tesfaye is a co-inventor. This is contradicted by the removal of Tesfaye as an inventor in the Rule 48 correction of inventorship of 11/27/22. It is not clear what applicant’s item 5’s and 6’s “inventors” and “inventor” are referring to. The list of inventors found in the current oath? The list of inventors of the current oath and Tesfaye as indicated in the Rule 130 declaration itself? If Tesfaye is an inventor of the subject matter, then Tesfaye didn’t obtain the information from the inventors as stated in item 7. 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 DAVID J BUTTNER whose telephone number is (571)272-1084. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-3pm. 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 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. 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. /DAVID J BUTTNER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1765 7/13/26
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Show 3 earlier events
May 19, 2025
Final Rejection mailed — §102
Nov 19, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Nov 20, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Dec 22, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
Jun 18, 2026
Response Filed
Jul 17, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102
Jul 23, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Jul 23, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12570795
POLYESTER RESIN AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING BLOW-MOLDED PRODUCT MADE OF POLYESTER RESIN
3y 5m to grant Granted Mar 10, 2026
Patent 12534687
LAUNDRY DETERGENT COMPOSITION COMPRISING POLYVINYL ALCOHOL ACETAL POLYMER
2y 9m to grant Granted Jan 27, 2026
Patent 12479990
THERMOPLASTIC RESIN COMPOSITION AND EXTERIOR MATERIAL INCLUDING THE SAME
3y 7m to grant Granted Nov 25, 2025
Patent 12421384
TRANSPARENT THERMOPLASTIC RESIN AND METHOD OF PREPARING THE SAME
3y 5m to grant Granted Sep 23, 2025
Patent 11945928
POLYOL COMPOSITION AND POLYURETHANE FOAM
3y 0m to grant Granted Apr 02, 2024
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

5-6
Expected OA Rounds
16%
Grant Probability
38%
With Interview (+21.4%)
4y 1m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 272 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance 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