RESPONSE TO AMENDMENT
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 .
Application Status
Amendments to the abstract and claims 3, 4, and 5, filed on 17 February 2026, have been entered in the above-identified application. Claim 18 has been added and claims 1, 2, 6-9, 11, and 13 have been cancelled by applicant. Claims 3-5, 10, 12, and 14-18 are pending.
WITHDRAWN REJECTIONS
The objection to the specification, made of record on page 3 paragraph 8 of the office action mailed 18 November 2025 has been withdrawn due to Applicant’s amendment in the response filed 17 February 2026.
The objections to claims 1, 4, and 11, made of record on page 4, paragraph 10 of the office action mailed 18 November 2025 has been withdrawn due to Applicant’s amendment in the response filed 17 February 2026.
The 35 U.S.C. § 102 rejection of claims 1, 4 and 5 over Karjala (U.S. Pat. 7,989,543), made of record on page 4, paragraph 11 of the office action mailed 18 November 2025 has been withdrawn due to Applicant’s amendment in the response filed 17 February 2026. In particular, Karjala does not specify applying its label to a mechanically recyclable item which includes an ethylene containing polymer.
The 35 U.S.C. § 103 rejection of claims 1 and 3-5 as over WO 2019/003964 A1, and of claims 6, 8, 9, and 11 over WO ‘364 in view of Dudley (U.S. Pat. 4,837,075) made of record on page 7, paragraph 15 and p. 10, paragraph 16 of the office action mailed 18 November 2025 has been withdrawn due to Applicant’s amendment and arguments in the response filed 17 February 2026. As applicant notes, the examples of WO ‘964 are outside of the claimed component ranges. Furthermore, Dudley is directed to in-mold and blow-mold labeling which the need to apply adhesively backed labels in a subsequent step. Applicant correctly notes that Dudley is specifically trying to avoid a subsequent step of applying adhesive-backed labels such as those of WO ‘964, and thus a skilled artisan would not look to apply such an adhesive label to the molded items of Dudley.
REJOINDER
Claim 18 is directed to an allowable product. Pursuant to the procedures set forth in MPEP § 821.04(B), claims 10, 12, and 14-17 directed to the process of making or using an allowable product, previously withdrawn from consideration as a result of a restriction requirement, are hereby rejoined and fully examined for patentability under 37 CFR 1.104.
Because all claims previously withdrawn from consideration under 37 CFR 1.142 have been rejoined, the restriction requirement as set forth in the Office action mailed on 05 August 2025 is hereby withdrawn. In view of the withdrawal of the restriction requirement as to the rejoined inventions, applicant(s) are advised that if any claim presented in a continuation or divisional application is anticipated by, or includes all the limitations of, a claim that is allowable in the present application, such claim may be subject to provisional statutory and/or nonstatutory double patenting rejections over the claims of the instant application. Once the restriction requirement is withdrawn, the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 121 are no longer applicable. See In re Ziegler, 443 F.2d 1211, 1215, 170 USPQ 129, 131-32 (CCPA 1971). See also MPEP § 804.01.
ALLOWABLE SUBJECT MATTER
Claims 3-5 and 18 are allowed.
REASONS FOR ALLOWANCE
The following is an examiner's statement of the reasons for allowance:
The base claim is claim 18.
The present claims are deemed allowable over the references since the references do not disclose or render obvious the adhesive composition as claimed in combination with an ethylene polymer containing item which is mechanically recyclable.
While Karjala (U.S. Pat. 7,989,543) discloses an adhesive composition comprising an ethylene/alpha olefin interpolymer such as ethylene/octene, a tackifier, and a plasticizer, the reference does not teach or suggest applying the adhesive as a label to a mechanically recyclable item which comprises an ethylene containing polymer as claimed.
WO 2019/003964 describes adhesive labels but does not specify the materials to which they are attached. Dudley (U.S. Pat. 4,837,075) is directed to in-mold and blow-mold labeling which the need to apply adhesively backed labels in a subsequent step. Applicant correctly notes that Dudley is specifically trying to avoid a subsequent step of applying adhesive-backed labels such as those of WO ‘964, and thus a skilled artisan would not look to apply such an adhesive label to the molded items of Dudley.
NEW REJECTIONS
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 10, 12, and 14-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 10, the claim purports to refer to a canceled claim. It is unclear which claim is intended to be referred to. For examination purposes, the Examiner has considered claim 10 to refer to claim 18.
Claim 10 at line 3 recites the step of arranging a substrate as a release liner or a face (emphasis added). However, line 6 of the same claim refers to laminating the release liner together with the face. Thus, both a substrate and release liner appear to be required by the claim. For consistency, the claim at line 3 should refer to arranging a first substrate as a release liner and a second substrate as a face.
Regarding claim 12, the claim purports to refer to a canceled claim. It is unclear which claim is intended to be referred to. For examination purposes, the Examiner has considered claim 12 to refer to claim 18.
Regarding claim 14, the claim purports to refer to a canceled claim. It is unclear which claim is intended to be referred to, as no other pending claim positively recites a waste matrix of a label laminate.
Regarding claim 15, the claim purports to refer to a canceled claim. It is unclear which claim is intended to be referred to, as no other pending claim positively recites a waste matrix of a label laminate.
Claim 16 refers to claim 15 and thus incorporates the above-described indefinite subject matter.
Claim 17 refers to claim 15 and thus incorporates the above-described indefinite subject matter.
Conclusion
Claims 10, 12, 14, and 15-17 are rejected. Claims 3-5 and 18 are allowed.
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 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 mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Scott R. Walshon whose telephone number is (571)270-5592. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri from 9am - 6pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Curtis Mayes can be reached on (571) 272-1234. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Scott R. Walshon/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1759
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