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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 6-9, filed 25 February 2026, with respect to the rejection of claims 1-3, 5, 9-12 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection has been withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments filed 25 February 2026 regarding claim 13 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
(OLD) Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102/103
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(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Roh et al. (US Pub 2009/0286896, hereafter US’896)
Claim 13 recites modified natural oil represented by Chemical Formula 2, prepared by the method of claim 1. US’896 discloses modified natural oils corresponding to the claimed formula, as set forth in the Office action. Claim 13 is in product-by-process form. As previously stated in the Office action, patentability of a product-by-process claim is based on the product itself, not on the recited method of making it, absent a demonstrated structural distinction in the claimed product.
Applicant argues that the amended process conditions imply a different monomer/dimer distribution, but claim 13 does not recite any such structural limitation, compositional ratio, or other product-defining characteristic that would distinguish the claimed modified natural oil from the modified natural oils disclosed by US’896.
Accordingly, the rejection of claim 13 is maintained.
Conclusion
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 DEBORAH D CARR whose telephone number is (571)272-0637. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday (10:30 am -6:30 pm).
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/DEBORAH D CARR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1691