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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3-6, 9, 12, 13, 16, 19 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Arai et al. (JP 2011-219740A).
Regarding claims 1, 3-6, 9, 12, 13, 16, 19 and 20: Arai et al. teach a one-component curing resin composition comprising 65 parts by mass epoxy resin (ELM434), 35 parts by mass curing agent (SEIKACURE-S), and 35 parts by mass of 3GPPI (N-(3-glycidyloxyphenyl)phthalimide) which meets claimed formula (1-3) of claim 1 [0140; Example 1]. Arai et al. teach a cured product of the composition [Example 1]. The molar proportion of the epoxy resin: curing agent: imide is 1.54:1.41:1.19 [Example 1].
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.
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.
Claim(s) 2, 7, 8, 10, 11, 14, 15, 17 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Arai et al. (JP 2011-219740A) as applied to claim 1 above.
Arai et al. teach using an imidazole as the curing agent [0097]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use an imidazole curing agent as the curing agent of Example 1. It is a simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN USELDING whose telephone number is (571)270-5463. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 8am to 6:30pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joseph Del Sole can be reached on 571-272-1130. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JOHN E USELDING/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1763