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Claims 1, 3-4, 7-9, 14-17, 25-30, and 33 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on January 20, 2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fukushima et al (US 2003/0060534) in view of Rajaiah et al (WO 2004/073661) and further in view of Utterodt et al (WO 2021083992).
With regards to claims 18 and 19, Fukushima teaches a photopolymerizable dental coating composition (abstract) for making crown restoratives and denture bases (abstract). Fukushima teaches the resin to include a (meth)acrylate compound (abstract) that includes, for example, methyl acrylate (reading on an alkyl acrylate) (0012) in an amount of 18.5% (0026 example 4), a polyfunctional (meth)acrylate (abstract) in an amount of 10% to 70% (0010), and an acylphosphine oxide polymerization initiator (abstract).
Fukushima does not teach the polyfunctional (meth)acrylate to be a polyalkylene glycol diacrylate, aliphatic urethane di(meth)acrylate, or alkoxylated bisphenol (meth)acrylate. Further, Fukushima does not teach the crosslinker to be an aliphatic urethane poly(meth)acrylate or ethoxylated (meth)acrylate wherein the compound has a functionality of greater than about 2.5.
Utterodt teaches a composition for a dental composite material (page 1) that includes a mixture of urethane (meth)acrylates (page 1). Utterodt teaches the mixture to include a di(meth)acrylate and a hexafunctional urethane (page 9). Utterodt teaches the motivation for using the mixture of the urethanes to be because it provides very good values for fracture toughness and has a homogeneous, monochrome stain before and after polymerization (page 1). Utterodt and Fukushima are analogous in the art of dental compositions. In light of the benefit above, it would be obvious to one skilled in the art prior to the effective filing date of the present invention to add the urethane mixture of Utterodt to the composition of Fukushima, thereby obtaining the present invention.
Fukushima does not teach the addition of a silicone surfactant.
Rajaiah teaches a denture composition (abstract) that includes a silicone surfactant (abstract) and teaches the motivation for adding the surfactant to increase the antiplaque, antistain, and/or antideposition efficacy or effect in the oral cavity of the denture wearer. Fukushima and Rajiah are analogous in the art of compositions used for the formation of dental compounds. In light of the benefit above, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art prior to the effective filing date of the present invention to add the silicone surfactant of Rajaiah to the composition of Fukushima, thereby obtaining the present invention.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JESSICA WHITELEY whose telephone number is (571)272-5203. The examiner can normally be reached 8 - 5:00.
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/JESSICA WHITELEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1763
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