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 .
The previous prior art rejection under Miyazaki et al (JP2012036273) maintained and therefore it is proper to make this rejection FINAL.
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 1-9 and new claims 10-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miyazaki et al (JP2012036273), cited in IDS and previous Office Action.
Regarding new claim 10, Miyazaki teaches that amount of polyester in heat -shrinkable film is 100% (see Example 1).
In reference to claim 11-13, Miyazaki teaches a polyester comprising 100% of terephthalic acid and
diol component is mainly composed of ethylene glycol and 10 mol % - 45 mol % of 1,4-
cyclohexanedimethanol, diethylene glycol or neopentyl glycol as the second component.
Note that Miyazaki does not teach completely non-crystalline polymer. However, the reference teaches that “it is difficult for a highly crystalline film to achieve both the elimination of insufficient shrinkage and the natural shrinkage resistance. Therefore, in the present invention, it is preferable to use a film component that suppresses crystallinity. “
The rejection can be found in the NON-FINAL office action mailed 11/3/2025 and is herein incorporated by reference
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 1/30/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant submits that even though polyesters structure are identical, their physical properties are not necessarily equal.
Examiner agree that physical properties of the film also depend on method of film preparation. As stated in Non-Final Office Action, Miyazaki and Applicant disclose analogous methods of film preparation, which include extrusion process with following film stretching . More detailed analysis can be found in the previous Office Action.
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 GREGORY LISTVOYB whose telephone number is (571)272-6105. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-5pm EST M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Heidi Riviere Kelley can be reached at (571) 270-1831. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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GL
/GREGORY LISTVOYB/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1765
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