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 without traverse of Group I, claims 1-11, in the reply filed on 5/26/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 12-15 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-4, 6 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Takeda et al. (JP 2015145456).
In claims 1 and 2, Takeda et al. teaches compositions comprising:
95-99.95 wt.% of a polyamide,
0.05-5 wt.% of a polyamide oligomer, and
0.1-30 wt.% of a layered silicate; whereby the oligomer has a molecular weight of 500-2000 g/mol.
The polyamide in Takeda et al. is based on a diacid and a diamine whereby the diacid is an alicyclic structure comprising for example a tricyclodecane or norbornene group and two alkylene groups attached such as octylene groups which can be further C1-4 branched (claim 1; ¶’s 17-25) and the diamine is an alicyclic diamine such as 1,4-cyclohexanediamine (¶’s 30-34).
The polyamide in Takeda et al. is end-capped via aliphatic monocarboxylic acids such as myristic acid (¶’s 50-53).
Based on the overall molecular weight of the PA oligomers and the molecular weight of the used diamines and diacids, the oligomers comprise necessarily an amount of monomer units identical to the claims.
Thus, the requirements for rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) are met.
Claim(s) 1-4, 6 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Oya et al. (US 2015/0240079).
In claim 1, Oya et al. teach compositions comprising:
95-99.95 wt.% a polyamide,
0.05-5 wt.% a polyamide oligomer (dispersant), and
an inorganic filler;
whereby the oligomer has a molecular weight of 500-2000 g/mol.
In ¶’s 33-41, Oya et al. teach that the polyamide is based on a diacid which is an alicyclic structure comprising for example a tricyclodecane and two alkylene groups attached such as octylene groups which can be further C1-4 branched and the diamine is an alicyclic diamine such as 1,4-cyclohexanediamine. The polyamide is end-capped via aliphatic monocarboxylic acids such as myristic acid (¶’s 61-64).
The inorganic filler in Oya et al. may constitute 0.1-200 parts by mass of the composition based on 100 parts polyamide (¶ 80).
Based on the overall molecular weight of the PA oligomers and the molecular weight of the used diamines and diacids, the oligomers comprise necessarily an amount of monomer units identical to the claims.
Thus, the requirements for rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) are met.
Claim(s) 1-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Schwitter et al. (US).
In claims 1 and 6, Schwitter et al. teaches a composition comprising:
70-99.5 wt.-% of a thermoplastic polyamide plastic material, and
0.5-30 wt.-% of a polyamide oligomer with a branched chain structure having a molecular weight of 800-5000 g/mol formed from a condensation of a diamine and diacid and end capping.
The composition can comprise solid additives such as 3-70 wt.-% graphite/carbon black with a particle size below 1 mm which are dispersed by the PA oligomer. (see ¶’s 60-62)
For the end-capping long alkyl chains are used provided for example by fatty acids such as C18 stearic acid or amine (¶ 39). The diamine comprises 2-44 carbon atoms such as 1,6-diaminohexane or 1,3-BAC (see ¶’s 38-47).
The diacid comprises 2-44 carbon atoms such as dimerized fatty acids (¶ 38) as used in the application (examples). Based on the overall molecular weight of the PA oligomers and the molecular weight of the used diamines and diacids, the oligomers comprise necessarily an amount of monomer units identical to claims 1, 3, 12, 14. The compositions can contain wax and polyolefins (¶ 62).
Thus, the requirements for rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) are met.
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) 10 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102((a)(1)/(a)(2)) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Takeda et al., Oya et al. or Schwitter et al.
While Takeda et al., Oya et al. or Schwitter et al. do not expressly teach the disclosed properties of the claimed acid and amide values, it is reasonable that the compositions of Takeda et al., Oya et al. or Schwitter et al. would possess the presently claimed properties since the composition of Takeda et al., Oya et al. or Schwitter et al. is essentially the same as the claimed composition and the USPTO does not have at its disposal the tools or facilities deemed necessary to make physical determinations of the sort. In any event, an otherwise old composition is not patentable regardless of any new or unexpected properties. In re Fitzgerald et al , 619 F.2d 67, 205 USPQ 594 (CCPA 1980). See MPEP § 2112 - § 2112.02.
Even if assuming that the prior art references do not meet the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 102, it would still have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was made, to arrive at the same inventive composition because the disclosure of the inventive subject matter appears within the generic disclosure of the prior art.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KELECHI CHIDI EGWIM whose telephone number is (571)272-1099. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 9-7.
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, Robert Jones can be reached at (571) 270-7733. 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.
/KELECHI C EGWIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1762
KCE
