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 .
Response to Amendment
All outstanding rejections, except for those maintained below, are withdrawn in light of applicant’s amendment filed on 3/24/2026.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior office action.
No new grounds of rejection are set forth below. Thus, the following action is properly made final.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Falla (US 2016/0060425) in view of evidence provided by Konaganti (US 12,409,597).
The rejection is adequately set forth in paragraph 3 of Office action mailed on 1/7/2026 and is incorporated here by reference.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 3/24/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Specifically, applicant argues that Falla fails to fairly disclose or suggest a Tc onset temperature higher than 120°C.
Falla teaches that the typical extrusion temperature is 165-260°C. Therefore a suitable Tc temperature is less than 165-260°C which overlaps with claimed greater than 120°C.
Applicant argues that the data of the present specification establishes criticality for a nucleating agent and lubricant having the cation of the same metal for Tc-onset temperature of greater than 120°C.
The examiner has studied the data and has determined that the data does not establish criticality for the same cationic metal in the nucleating agent and lubricant. Specifically, the Tc onset temperatures for the comparative examples (119°C) is so close to the exemplified amounts so as to be insignificant, especially in view of how dependent Tc-onset on testing conditions such as rate of cooling and heat set conditions. Specifically, Examples 1 and 3 are identical in composition yet have a different Tc-onset. Also, Tc-onset temperature is dependent on the total amount of nucleating agent and can be readily optimized or increased to obtain a higher Tc-onset temperature. Given that the comparative and exemplified Tc-onset temperatures are so close, criticality for the same metal cation is not clearly established.
Conclusion
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 VICKEY NERANGIS whose telephone number is (571)272-2701. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30 am - 5:00 pm EST, Monday - Friday.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joseph Del Sole can be reached at (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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/VICKEY NERANGIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1763
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