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/Restriction
Restriction to one of the following inventions is required under 35 U.S.C. 121:
I. Claims 1-15, drawn to a plasticizer, composition, and plastic product, classified in 260.
II. Claims 16-20, drawn to another plastic composition and plastic product, classified in 524.
The inventions are independent or distinct, each from the other because:
Inventions I and II are unrelated. The inventions are unrelated as they are not disclosed as capable of use together and they have different designs, modes of operation, and effects (MPEP § 802.01 and § 806.06).
Restriction for examination purposes as indicated is proper because all the inventions listed in this action are independent or distinct for the reasons given above and there would be a serious search and/or examination burden if restriction were not required because one or more of the following reasons apply:
The search required for one group is not required for the other. A search for both invention in a single application would represent an undue burden on the Examiner.
Applicant is advised that the reply to this requirement to be complete must include (i) an election of an invention to be examined even though the requirement may be traversed (37 CFR 1.143) and (ii) identification of the claims encompassing the elected invention.
The election of an invention may be made with or without traverse. To reserve a right to petition, the election must be made with traverse. If the reply does not distinctly and specifically point out supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election shall be treated as an election without traverse. Traversal must be presented at the time of election in order to be considered timely. Failure to timely traverse the requirement will result in the loss of right to petition under 37 CFR 1.144. If claims are added after the election, applicant must indicate which of these claims are readable upon the elected invention.
Should applicant traverse on the ground that the inventions are not patentably distinct, applicant should submit evidence or identify such evidence now of record showing the inventions to be obvious variants or clearly admit on the record that this is the case. In either instance, if the examiner finds one of the inventions unpatentable over the prior art, the evidence or admission may be used in a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) of the other invention.
During a telephone conversation with Todd Sullivan on 12/24/25, a provisional election was made with traverse to prosecute the invention of Group I, claims 1-15. Affirmation of this election must be made by applicant in replying to this Office action. Claims 16-20 are withdrawn from further consideration by the examiner, 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a non-elected invention.
Applicant is reminded that upon the cancelation of claims to a non-elected invention, the inventorship must be corrected in compliance with 37 CFR 1.48(a) if one or more of the currently named inventors is no longer an inventor of at least one claim remaining in the application. A request to correct inventorship under 37 CFR 1.48(a) must be accompanied by an application data sheet in accordance with 37 CFR 1.76 that identifies each inventor by his or her legal name and by the processing fee required under 37 CFR 1.17(i).
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) 1-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Blahak et al. (USPN 3,808,250 or 4,007,239), Gajewski et al. (US 2003/0212291) or Dong et al. (CN 101333280).
Each of Blahak et al. (Col. 1, lines 15-30 of ‘250), Blahak et al. (Col. 1 of ‘ 239), Gajewski et al. (¶ 24) teach compounds consistent with the present formula (I).
In the abstract, Dong et al. teach chain extender compounds consistent with the compound (I) of present claims.
Regarding claims 5 and 6, the properties of the compound are inherent to the compound. If the prior art teaches the compound, it necessarily teaches the properties.
Thus, the requirements of rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) are met.
Claim(s) 1-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Havinga et al. (USPN 3,756,983).
In col. 1, Havinga et al. teach a polymer product comprising a variety of plastic polymers with 0.1 to 5% of UV light absorbing compounds consistent with the present compound (I). See col. 4, lines 47-54.
Regarding claims 5 and 6, the properties of the compound are inherent to the compound. If the prior art teaches the compound, it necessarily teaches the properties.
Thus, the requirements of rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) are met.
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.
Claim(s) 9-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Clendinning et al. (USPN 3,931,068), Auffermann (US 2012/0107527) or Takahashi et al. (EP 1854837), individually in view of Havinga et al. (USPN 3,756,983).
Each of Clendinning et al. (Col. 1, lines 38-42 and col. 2, lines 47-50), Auffermann (¶’s 1-8) and Takahashi et al. (¶ 18) teach biodegradable blends with UV light absorbing additives added.
Clendinning et al., Auffermann or Takahashi et al. differ from the claimed invention in that they do not specify the present compound (I) as the UV light absorbing compound. However, it is known in the art to use the present compound (I) in such plastic polymer compositions, such as taught by Havinga et al., above, as UV light absorbing compounds.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made, to use the present compound (I) as the UV light absorbing compound in Clendinning et al., Auffermann or Takahashi et al. in order to obtain the UV light absorbing advantages taught by Havinga et al., motivated by a reasonable expectation of success.
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.
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/KELECHI C EGWIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1762
KCE