Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/257,695

CHEMICAL ADDITIVES AND THEIR USE THEREOF FOR MODIFYING MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF PVC AND PREVENTING THE FORMATION OF SURFACE DEFECTS DURING PVC CALENDERING

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Jun 15, 2023
Priority
Dec 17, 2020 — provisional 63/126,937 +2 more
Examiner
DU, SURBHI M
Art Unit
1765
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
The Royal Institution For The Advancement Of Learning / Mcgill University
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
69%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 69% — above average
69%
Career Allowance Rate
78 granted / 113 resolved
+4.0% vs TC avg
Strong +30% interview lift
Without
With
+30.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 2m
Avg Prosecution
28 currently pending
Career history
149
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§103
81.2%
+41.2% vs TC avg
§102
4.8%
-35.2% vs TC avg
§112
4.8%
-35.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 113 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 Election/Restrictions Claims 12-15 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 03/06/2026. Applicant notes that the groups are linked to form a single inventive concept, and possess unity of invention. Per the discussion provided in the requirement of Restriction/Election as mailed on 01/07/2026, it was determined that Turner WO00/29521 teaches a triol complex alcohol ester as required (and as detailed below). The limitations set forth in claims fail to define a contribution over reference Turner, and fail to constitute a special technical feature and hence there is a lack of unity between the various groups. The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL. Claim Objections Applicant is advised that should claim 3 be found allowable, claim 4 will be objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate thereof. When two claims in an application are duplicates or else are so close in content that they both cover the same thing, despite a slight difference in wording, it is proper after allowing one claim to object to the other as being a substantial duplicate of the allowed claim. See MPEP § 608.01(m). 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. Claims 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Turner et al. WO00/29521 (provided on IDS 01/15/2025). Turner discloses soluble complex alcohol ester compounds (Title). Regarding claims 1-11, Turner teaches (page 16, structure V) a triol complex alcohol ester of Formula V, as shown below: PNG media_image1.png 179 434 media_image1.png Greyscale which meets the requirement of the following compound, PNG media_image2.png 190 391 media_image2.png Greyscale in which Y corresponds to the required as shown below: PNG media_image3.png 117 439 media_image3.png Greyscale where Ra, Rb and Rc are each H, n=0, m=1, R1 is –(CH2-)4 alkylene chain, R2 is C10 alkylene chain and Re is ethyl group. Therefore, the invention as claimed is fully anticipated by Turner as disclosing each limitation of the rejected claims as per discussion above. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Surbhi M Du whose telephone number is (571)272-9960. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00 am to 5:00pm. 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, 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. 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. /S.M.D./ Examiner Art Unit 1765 /DAVID J BUTTNER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1765 4/6/26
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jun 15, 2023
Application Filed
Apr 08, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12624162
POLYCARBONATE COPOLYMER
2y 11m to grant Granted May 12, 2026
Patent 12612487
CYCLOOLEFIN COPOLYMER AND HYDROGENATED PRODUCT THEREOF, AND OPTICAL ELEMENT
2y 9m to grant Granted Apr 28, 2026
Patent 12606700
POLYESTER RESIN COMPOSITION, POLYESTER-BASED INJECTION-MOLDED ARTICLE, POLYESTER-BASED EXTRUDED ARTICLE, POLYESTER-BASED FOAM, POLYESTER-BASED CONTAINER, POLYESTER-BASED BOTTLE, POLYESTER-BASED TABLEWARE, AND POLYESTER-BASED NURSING BOTTLE
4y 6m to grant Granted Apr 21, 2026
Patent 12606702
POLYCARBONATE COMPOSITIONS
3y 9m to grant Granted Apr 21, 2026
Patent 12600837
RUBBER COMPOSITION AND CROSSLINKED RUBBER MOLDED PRODUCT
3y 10m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
69%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+30.2%)
3y 2m (~2m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 113 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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