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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 14 and 16-20 remain withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to nonelected inventions, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-5, 11 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102((a)(1)/(a)(2)) as being anticipated by Parker et al. (USPN 5,373,578).
In col. 2, lines 5-28 and col. 7, lines 7-20, Parker et al. teach a curable coating composition comprising 50-80% of a urethane acrylate oligomer with 1-20% of a hydrocarbon component represented by polytetrahydrofurandiol, a fully hydrogenated furan compound, and about 2% of a photoinitiator.
Thus, the requirements for rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102((a)(1)/(a)(2)) are met.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 5/20/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
While applicant argues that “the polytetrahydrofurandiol of Parker is not a furan compound”, the term “furan-based” is being given the plainest and broadest meaning, which would include a compound prepared from the hydrogenation of furan, i.e., polytetrahydrofurandiol. No where in applicant specification does applicant define “furan-based” to exclusively mean only compounds that contain a furan ring. Thus, the requirements for rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102((a)(1)/(a)(2)) are still met.
Allowable Subject Matter
None of the prior art is found to teach or sufficiently suggest the particular furan based reactive diluents of claims 6-10, 12 and 13 of the present curable composition with the urethane acrylate oligomer and photoinitiator. Claims 6-10, 12 and 13 are 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.
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 KELECHI CHIDI EGWIM whose telephone number is (571)272-1099. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 9-7.
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, Robert Jones can be reached at (571) 270-7733. 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.
/KELECHI C EGWIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1762
KCE
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