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 .
REJECTIONS WITHDRAWN
All previous have been withdrawn.
REJECTIONS REPEATED
There are no rejections repeated.
NEW REJECTIONS
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) 1-4 and 12-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as being anticipated by Inoue (US 2016/0177080).
Inoue discloses a resin pellet (paragraphs [0046]) group, comprising: a pellet (A1) containing an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (a1); and a pellet (A2) containing an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (a2), wherein the pellet (A1) has a melt flow rate of 2 g/10 min or more and less than 11 g/10 min at 210°C under a load of 2160 g, as measured in accordance with JIS K 7210:2014, and the pellet (A2) has a melt flow rate of 11 g/10 min or more and 40 g/10 min or less at 210°C under a load of 2160 g, as measured in accordance with JIS K 7210:2014 (paragraphs [0033], [0036]), an ethylene unit content (ECa1) of the ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (a1) is different from an ethylene unit content (ECa2) of the ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (a2) (paragraphs [0029], [0031], [0034]), and a mass ratio (A1/A2) of the pellet (A1) to the pellet (A2) is 20/80 or more and 99/1 or less (paragraph [0040]). Inoue discloses a difference (A2-A1) between the MFR at 210°C under a load of 2160 g of the pellet (A2) as measured in accordance with JIS K 7210:2014 and the MFR at 210°C under a load of 2160 g of the
pellet (A1) as measured in accordance with JIS K 7210:2014 is 7 or more, or 10 or more, or between 7 and 20, or between 12.5 and 20 g/10 min or more before mixing (paragraphs [0033], [0036]).
Inoue discloses wherein an absolute value of a difference between the ethylene unit content (EC,1) of the ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (a1) and the ethylene unit content (EC,2) of the ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (a2) is 4 mol% or more, wherein the ethylene unit content (ECa2) of the ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (a2) is larger than the ethylene unit content (ECai) of the ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (a1), wherein the ethylene unit content (ECai) of the ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (a1) is 20 mol% or more and 50 mol% or less, and the ethylene unit content (EC,2) of the ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (a2) is 30 mol% or more and 60 mol% or less (paragraphs [0029-0040]). Inoue also discloses wherein the absolute value of a difference between the ethylene unit content (ECa1) of the ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (a1) and the ethylene unit content (ECa₂) of the ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (a2) is 7 mol% or more and 18 mol% or less, wherein the mass ratio (A1/A2) of the pellet (A1) to the pellet (A2) is 50/50 or more and 93/7 or less (paragraphs [0029-0040]).
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) 5 and 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Inoue (US 2016/0177080) in view of Kawai (US 2016/0244601).
Inoue does not disclose wherein a difference between a melting point of the pellet (A1) and a melting point of the pellet (A2) is 8°C or more and 35°C or less.
Kawai discloses wherein a difference between a melting point of the pellet (A1) and a melting point of the pellet (A2) is 8°C or more and 35°C or less in an EVOH composition for the purpose of providing improved heat stretching properties (paragraphs [0012], [0034]).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time applicant’s invention was made to have provided wherein a difference between a melting point of the pellet (A1) and a melting point of the pellet (A2) is 8°C or more and 35°C or less in Kawai in order to provide improved heat stretching properties as taught or suggested by Kawai.
Kawai discloses wherein the pellet (A1) and/or the pellet (A2) further comprises a boron compound, wherein a content of the boron compound is 50 ppm or more and 1000 ppm or less (paragraphs [0045-0051]).
ANSWERS TO APPLICANT’S ARGUMENTS
Applicant’s arguments of 2/24/26 have been carefully considered but are deemed unpersuasive.
Inoue discloses a difference (A2-A1) between the MFR at 210°C under a load of 2160 g of the pellet (A2) as measured in accordance with JIS K 7210:2014 and the MFR at 210°C under a load of 2160 g of the pellet (A1) as measured in accordance with JIS K 7210:2014 is 7 or more, or 10 or more, or between 7 and 20, or between 12.5 and 20 g/10 min or more before mixing (paragraphs [0033], [0036]).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 MICHAEL C MIGGINS whose telephone number is (571)272-1494. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 1-9 pm EST.
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, Aaron Austin can be reached at 571-272-8935. 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.
/MICHAEL C MIGGINS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1782
MCM
April 21, 2026
Prosecution Insights