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
Claims 1-21 are currently pending in the instant application. Applicants have amended claims 1, 11, 16 and 17 and cancelled claims 22-24 in an amendment filed on May 28, 2026. Claims 2, 7 and 9 are rejected and claims 1, 3-6, 8 and 10-21 are considered allowable in this Office Action.
I. Response to Arguments/Remarks
Applicants’ amendment, filed on May 28, 2026, has overcome the rejection of claims 1, 3, 5, 6, 13, 14, 16, 19, 22 and 23 under 35 USC 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Patrian, et al.; the rejection of claims 22-24 under 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over Canal-Raffian, et al. in view of Patrian, et al.; the rejection of claims 22-24 under 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over ECHA Registration of Captan in view of Commission Implementing Regulation No. 540/2011; the rejection of claims 2 and 7 under 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over Patrian, et al. in view of Takumi, et al.; the rejection of claims 1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12-16, 18, 19, 22 and 23 under 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over Deccan Report in view of Patrian, et al. and the objection of claims 11 and 17 as being dependent upon a rejected based claim. The above rejections and objection have been withdrawn.
II. Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on March 9, 2026 and May 12, 2026 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements have been considered by the examiner.
III. Rejection(s)
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claims 2, 7 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Applicants amended claim 1 and added a similar limitation that is found in claim into claim 1. Claim 2 depends on claim 1. Since this limitation is now present in claim 1, claim 2 does not further limit claim 1. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
IV. Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Shawquia Jackson whose telephone number is (571)272-9043. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 7AM-4PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Adam Milligan can be reached on (571) 270-7674. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
/SHAWQUIA JACKSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1626
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