DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The inventor or joint inventor should note that the instant invention, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-11 are pending in the instant invention. According to the In The Claims, filed August 10, 2023, claims 1, 4, 5 and 8-10 were amended.
Status of Priority
This invention is a 35 U.S.C. § 371 National Stage Filing of International Application No. PCT/JP2022/007538, filed February 24, 2022, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a-d) to JP 2021-028058, filed February 25, 2021.
Restrictions / Election of Species
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The inventor’s or joint inventor’s provisional election of the following, without traverse, in the reply filed on June 12, 2026, is acknowledged: Group I - claims 1-3. Affirmation of this election must be made by the inventor or joint inventor in replying to this Office action.
Similarly, the inventor or joint inventor should further note that the requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Moreover, the inventor or joint inventor should further note that claims 4-11 were withdrawn from further consideration, pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected or cancelled invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Thus, a first Office action and prosecution on the merits of claims 1-3 is contained within.
Specification Objection - Disclosure
The following guidelines illustrate the preferred layout for the specification of a utility application. These guidelines are suggested for the inventor’s or joint inventor’s use.
Arrangement of the Specification
As provided in 37 CFR 1.77(b), the specification of a utility invention should include the following sections in order. Each of the lettered items should appear in upper case, without underlining or bold type, as a section heading. If no text follows the section heading, the phrase Not Applicable should follow the section heading:
(a) TITLE OF THE INVENTION.
(b) CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS.
(c) STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR
DEVELOPMENT.
(d) THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT.
(e) INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A
COMPACT DISC.
(f) BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION.
(1) Field of the Invention.
(2) Description of Related Art (including information disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97
and 1.98).
(g) BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION.
(h) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S).
(i) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION.
(j) CLAIM OR CLAIMS (commencing on a separate sheet).
(k) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE (commencing on a separate sheet).
(l) SEQUENCE LISTING (See MPEP § 2424 and 37 CFR 1.821-1.825).
The inventor or joint inventor is advised to format the specification according to 37 CFR 1.77(b) above and 37 CFR 1.77(c). Revisions should particularly include and/or address: a) section headings (b-i), where applicable; and b) bold-type, underline, and/or upper case formatting. Appropriate correction may be required.
Specification Objection - Title
The inventor or joint inventor is reminded of the proper content of the title of the invention.
The title of the invention should be brief, but technically accurate and descriptive and should contain fewer than 500 characters. See 37 CFR 1.72(a) and MPEP § 606.
The title of the invention is not technically accurate and descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed. In the revised title, the examiner suggests identifying only the process for preparing 2-furonitrile.
The following title is suggested: PROCESS FOR PREPARING 2-FURONITRILE.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: for clarity, precision and to avoid issues under 35 U.S.C. § 112(a) and/or 35 U.S.C. § 112(b), the existing recitation should be replaced with the following recitation:
A process for preparing 2-furonitrile of the following formula:
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,
wherein the process comprises the following steps:
(1) diluting a compound of the following formula:
(NH4)6Mo7O24 ∙ 4H2O,
with distilled water, to obtain a catalyst precursor solution;
(2) mixing the catalyst precursor solution obtained in step (1) above with SiO2, to obtain a SiO2-supported molybdenum (Mo) catalyst; and
(3) dehydrating 2-furamide of the following formula:
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in the presence of the SiO2-supported molybdenum (Mo) catalyst obtained in step (2) above, to obtain 2-furonitrile of the following formula:
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.
Appropriate correction is required. See MPEP § 2173.02.
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities: for clarity, precision and to avoid issues under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) and/or 35 U.S.C. § 112(d), the existing recitation should be replaced with the following recitation:
The process according to claim 1, wherein in step (3), the process further comprises dehydrating 2-furamide in the presence of a desiccant.
Appropriate correction is required. See MPEP § 2173.02.
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: for clarity, precision and to avoid issues under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) and/or 35 U.S.C. § 112(d), the existing recitation should be replaced with the following recitation:
The process according to claim 2, wherein in step (3), the desiccant is a molecular sieve.
Appropriate correction is required. See MPEP § 2173.02.
Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. § 112(b)
The following is a quotation of the second paragraph of 35 U.S.C. § 112:
(b) CONCLUSION. The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) as being incomplete for omitting an essential methodical step, such omission resulting in an indefinite method. See MPEP § 2172.01.
The inventor or joint inventor should note that the omitted essential methodical step in the method for producing 2-furonitrile, as recited in claim 1, is the manipulative step which results in the preparation of an Mo/SiO2 catalyst in which molybdenum (Mo) is supported on a carrier formed from SiO2. The claim fails to explicitly recite a manipulative step which results in the preparation of an Mo/SiO2 catalyst in which molybdenum (Mo) is supported on a carrier formed from SiO2. Similarly, the specification fails to provide an adequate standard for ascertaining the requisite degree of a manipulative step which results in the preparation of an Mo/SiO2 catalyst in which molybdenum (Mo) is supported on a carrier formed from SiO2. Consequently, one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the metes and bounds of the method for producing 2-furonitrile, as recited in claim 1, since, the essential manipulative step which results in the preparation of an Mo/SiO2 catalyst in which molybdenum (Mo) is supported on a carrier formed from SiO2 is omitted.
Similarly, the inventor or joint inventor should further note that [A] claim which omits matter disclosed to be essential to the invention, as described in the specification or in other statements of record, may also be rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112(a) as not enabling. {See In re Mayhew, 527 F.2d 1229, 188 USPQ 356 (CCPA 1976); and MPEP § 2164.08(c)}.
Moreover, the inventor or joint inventor should further note that [C]laims which depend from indefinite claims are also indefinite. {See Ex parte Cordova, 10 USPQ 2d 1949, 1952 (PTO Bd. App. 1989)}.
The examiner suggests amending the claims, particularly as stated in the section above entitled Claim Objections, to overcome this rejection.
Allowable Subject Matter
No claims are allowed.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DOUGLAS M. WILLIS, whose telephone number is 571-270-5757. The examiner may normally be reached on Monday thru Thursday from 8:00-6:00 EST. The examiner is also available on alternate Fridays.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mr. Jeffrey Murray, may be reached on 571-272-9023. The fax phone number for the organization where this invention or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an invention may be obtained from Patent Center. For more information about Patent Center, see https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center. Should you have questions on access to Patent Center, contact the Patent Electronic Business Center (PEBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free) or ebc@uspto.gov.
/DOUGLAS M WILLIS/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1624
Prosecution Insights