DETAILED ACTION
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ikeno et al. 7,067,570, in view of Hamamoto et al. 8,431,953
This rejection relies on the same base rationale as was noted in the office action
dated 1/2/26. As such this will not be repeated.
In an effort to overcome the Ikeno et al. reference, used alone in the previous rejection, Applicants have amended claim 1 by limiting the antioxidant selection (F). The Examiner acknowledges that Ikeno et al. do not teach such compounds.
Hamamoto et al. teach in column 16, lines 10 to 57, the addition of a phenolic antioxidant. While this provides heat stability, Hamamoto et al. also teach that using this compound within the range disclosed will avoid undesirable separation and discoloration.
Noting that Hamamoto et al. make specific reference to heat stability, the Examiner draws attention to the fact that line 1 of column 11 teaches the addition of heat resistance imparting agents.
In addition to the above, the Examiner notes that paragraph 44 of the instant specification teaches that component (F) is known.
As such, before the effective date of invention, one having ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to include a phenolic antioxidant to the composition of Ikeno et al. in an effort to obtain the known benefits and properties associated with this common ingredient. In this manner amended claim 1, the claims that depend thereon, and new claim 8 are rendered obvious.
For new claim 9 note that column 8, lines 52 to 54, teach specific groups that correspond to the “a” containing unit as claimed, such as butyl, pentyl and hexyl.
Response to Arguments
In response to the amendment, please note that the reliance on the Hamamoto et al. reference addresses applicants’ first bullet point on page 8/9 in the response of 3/31/26. The above combination renders obvious this limitation, though applicants’ own specification provides motivation as well.
Applicants’ second bullet point on page 8/9 is also addressed above, as Ikeno et
al. specifically teach R2 groups that correspond to linear alkyl groups in the phosphoric acid (D).
Finally, regarding applicants third bullet point regarding the advantages of (D) and (E) in combination, note that this single, extremely specific, inventive composition is not representative of the entire breadth of the claims. Certainly one cannot make an extrapolation from this one comparison to the entire breadth of the claims. Furthermore given the fact that Hamamoto et al. teach improved heat stability, it is not even clear that these results are, in fact, unexpected.
Conclusion
Claims 3, 5 and 7 remain objected to as being dependent on a rejected base claim but containing allowable subject matter. This was noted in the previous office action.
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 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 MARGARET MOORE whose telephone number is (571)272-1090. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Friday, 10 am to 5 pm. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Heidi Kelly, can be reached at 571-270-1831.
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Mgm
4/8/26
/MARGARET G MOORE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1765
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