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
Applicant's election with traverse of the Group I invention (claims 1-17) in the reply filed on 04/22/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the inventions do not lack unity because the technical feature shared by the Groups does make a contribution over the prior art in view of Saudi Basic Industries. This traversal has been considered but is not found persuasive because even though the inventions of the Groups require the technical feature of "the fertilizer granule of claim 1", this technical feature is not a special technical feature as it does not make a contribution over the prior art in view of Khaleel as demonstrated in the rejection herein.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 18-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/04/2023, 04/25/2024, 08/21/2024, 03/17/2025, 09/04/2025 have been considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
In regard to claim 1, the phrase “the fertilizer granule(s)” in lines 8 and 9 renders the claim indefinite because the use of the parenthetical plural makes it unclear if the 10 gram sample must consist of a single large granule or a collection of granules.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-15 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khaleel (WO-2018042312-A1).
In regard to claims 1 and 3, Khaleel discloses an acidic (e.g. fertilizer composition comprises an inorganic acid in an amount of 0.1 to 2 wt%) [para 0017] fertilizer granule (e.g. granular fertilizer) [0010] comprising:
1 to 60 wt. % nitrogen [0013; 0016];
1 to 60 wt. % phosphorus [0013; 0016];
potassium [0016] (e.g. preferred embodiments comprise 10% potassium or 19% potassium, receptively) [0031; 0032],;
0.027 to 13.32 w. % sulfur (e.g. 0.1 to 50 wt.% additional nutrient compound; an exemplary compound is magnesium sulfate) [0015];
0.1 to 5 wt. % of a source of one or more trace elements such as chlorine [0017],
wherein the granule comprises an amount of an inorganic acid sufficient to form a solution having a pH of less than 5 when the fertilizer composition is dissolved in water [0028-0029]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to formulate a fertilizer granule as described by Khaleel which exhibits a pH less than 4 or less than 3 (claim 3) as claimed. pH is a result effective variable depending on the concentration of acid component present in the granule. Khaleel teach the inorganic acid component present in an amount of 0.1 to 0 wt%, based on the total weight of the fertilizer composition. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to choose the instantly claimed ranges through process optimization, since it has been held that there the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. See In re Boesch, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980).
Khaleel’s nutrient weight percentages overlap or lie inside the claimed weight percentages. “In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990)”. Furthermore, Khaleel exemplifies NPK values including 14:38:10 and 11:29:19 [0031; 0032] which lie inside the claimed ranges.
In regard to claim 2, Khaleel disclose the fertilizer granule of claim 1, wherein the inorganic acid is distributed throughout the granule (e.g. the fertilizer composition comprising the inorganic acidic compound can be blended with a granular fertilizer free of inorganic acidic compound) [0028].
In regard to claims 4-5, Khaleel discloses the fertilizer granule of claim 1, comprising 2 wt. % or more of the inorganic acid or 8 wt. % or more of the inorganic acid (e.g. the inorganic acidic compound is present in an amount of 0.1 to 10 wt%, based on the total weight of the fertilizer composition) [0018].
In regard to claims 6-7, Khaleel discloses the fertilizer granule of claim 1, wherein the inorganic acid comprises sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, or any combinations thereof [0018] with sulfuric acid described in preferred embodiments [0031; 0032].
In regard to claim 8, Khaleel discloses the fertilizer granule of claim 1, further comprising a secondary nutrient and/or a micronutrient (e.g. additionally a source of one or more trace elements, i.e., micronutrients, can be included) [0017].
In regard to claim 9, Khaleel discloses the fertilizer granule of claim 1, comprising 2 to 40 wt. % of nitrogen (e.g. 1 to 60 wt. % nitrogen) [0013; 0016], and at least a portion of nitrogen is present as ammonium (e.g. exemplary nitrogen compounds include ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate, ammonium sulfate nitrate) [0011].
In regard to claim 10, Khaleel discloses the fertilizer granule of claim 1, comprising 2 to 40 wt. % of phosphorus (e.g. 1 to 60 wt. % phosphorus) [0013; 0016], and at least a portion of phosphorus is present as phosphate (e.g. exemplary phosphate compounds include monoammonium phosphate ("MAP"), diammonium phosphate ("DAP"), polyphosphate compounds including but not limited to P2O5, phosphate rock, single superphosphate ("SSP"), triple super phosphate ("TSP"), or a combination thereof) [0011]
In regard to claim 11, Khaleel discloses the fertilizer granule of claim 1, comprising 2 to 40 wt. % of potassium (e.g. preferred embodiments comprise 10% potassium or 19% potassium, receptively) [0031; 0032], and at least a portion of potassium is present as potassium salt (e.g. exemplary potassium sources include potassium nitrate, potassium chloride, or potassium sulfate [0014]
In regard to claim 12, Khaleel disclose the fertilizer granule of claim 1, comprising 2 to 40 wt. % of chlorine (0.1 to 5 wt. % of a source of one or more trace elements such as chlorine) [0017], and at least a portion of chlorine is present as chloride (e.g. potassium chloride) [0014]
In regard to claim 13, Khaleel discloses the fertilizer granule of claim 1, comprising 0.5 to 15 wt. % of sulfur and at least a portion of sulfur is present as sulfate (e.g. 0.1 to 50 wt.% additional nutrient compound; an exemplary compound is magnesium sulfate) [0015].
In regard to claim 14, Khaleel discloses the fertilizer granule of claim 1, comprising 1 to 60 wt. % nitrogen [0013; 0016], 1 to 60 wt. % phosphorus [0013; 0016], preferred embodiments comprising 19% potassium [0016; 0032], 0.027 to 13.32 w. % sulfur (e.g. 0.1 to 50 wt.% additional nutrient compound; an exemplary compound is magnesium sulfate) [0015], which overlaps with the claimed range. The reference does not explicitly disclose 13 to 19 wt. % of chlorine, however, in the case where the potassium source of Khaleel is provided in amounts exemplified as 19% [0032] in the form of potassium chloride [0014], it necessarily follows that chlorine is also present in amounts ranging from 13 to 19 wt. % of chlorine.
In regard to claim 15, Khaleel discloses the fertilizer granule of claim 1, comprising 8 to 12 wt. % or more of the inorganic acid (e.g. the inorganic acidic compound is present in an amount of 0.1 to 10 wt%, based on the total weight of the fertilizer composition) [0018], wherein the inorganic acid comprises sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, or any combinations thereof [0018] with sulfuric acid described in preferred embodiments [0031; 0032].
In regard to claim 17, Khaleel discloses the fertilizer granule of claim 1, comprised in a fertilizer blend comprising the fertilizer granule and an additional fertilizer (e.g. the fertilizer composition comprising the inorganic acidic compound can be blended with a granular fertilizer free of inorganic acidic compound) [0028].
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khaleel (WO-2018042312-A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Industry News (Risso Chemical, 2018).
In regard to claim 16, Khaleel does not explicitly disclose wherein the fertilizer granule has a moisture content of less than 2 wt. %, measured at 50 °C. Industry News describes best practices for storing NPK fertilizers including that water-soluble fertilizers should be kept dry and away from moisture, in which case they can last 2-3 years [pg. 4, last line]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to formulate Khaleel’s fertilizer granule with low moisture within the claimed range. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so to increase the shelf life of the disclosed water-soluble NPK fertilizers.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jennifer A Smith whose telephone number is (571)270-3599. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:30am-6pm EST.
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/JENNIFER A SMITH/Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1731 May 8, 2026
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