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 .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Priority
3. This application is a 371 of PCT/JP2021/025044 07/01/2021.
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application JAPAN 2021-057825 03/30/2021 filed on 08/24/23.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS), filed on 08/24/23 and 07/31/24 have been considered. Please refer to Applicant's copy of the 1449 submitted herewith.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 2 recites the limitation "The heat-shrinkable film" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Applicants are suggested to change “The” to “A”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Toya (US 6107411; IDS filed on 08/24/23).
Regarding claim 1, Toya discloses a block copolymer composition containing at least one kind of a block copolymer having a vinyl aromatic hydrocarbon monomer unit such as styrene and a conjugated diene monomer unit such as butadiene (claims; table 1; P1), wherein the block copolymer composition satisfies following (1)-(3) :(1) when a total of the vinyl aromatic hydrocarbon monomer unit and the conjugated diene monomer unit in the block copolymer composition is taken as 100 mass%, a content of the conjugated diene monomer unit is 17 wt% (table 1; P1), fall into claimed range of 10-20 mass%; (2) the block copolymer composition contains 81 wt% styrene block (table 1; P1) fall into claimed 60-100 mass% and read on of a block copolymer having a structure represented by a following general formula P1: (S)-[(S/B)]₂ (P1) in the general formula P1, (S) is a polymer chain of the vinyl aromatic hydrocarbon monomer unit, and (S/B) is a copolymer chain having the vinyl aromatic hydrocarbon monomer unit and the conjugated diene monomer unit; and (3) a number average molecular weight of the block copolymer contained in the block copolymer composition is 184,000 (table 1; P1) fall into claimed range of 100,000-200,000.
Regarding the claimed feature (4), Toya discloses the storage modulus ratio at 30 0C and 10 0C (claim 1), but does not disclose the claimed storage modulus measured at 70°C and a storage modulus measured at 100°C in dynamic viscoelasticity measurement measured in accordance with JIS K7244-1 and JIS K7244-5 under conditions of a temperature rising rate of 4°C/min and a frequency of 1 Hz are each defined as E'70 and E'100, a calculated value V based on a following calculation formula F1 is 0.5x10¹⁶ - 2.0x10¹⁶ V=E' 70x (E'70-E'100) /30 (F1). Since, the claimed block copolymer composition is anticipated and Toya discloses claimed features (1)-(3), the feature (4) - properties of the composition such as storage modulus measured at 70°C and a storage modulus measured at 100°C would inherently be the same as claimed. “Products of identical chemical composition cannot have mutually exclusive properties.” A chemical composition and its properties are inseparable. Therefore, if the prior art teaches the identical chemical structure, the properties applicant discloses and/or claims are necessarily present. See MPEP 2112.01(I) , In re Best, 562 F2d at 1255, 195 USPQ at 433, Titanium Metals Corp v Banner, 778 F2d 775, 227 USPQ 773 (Fed Cir 1985), In re Ludtke, 441 F2d 660, 169 USPQ 563 (CCPA 1971) and Northam Warren Corp v D F Newfield Co, 7 F Supp 773, 22 USPQ 313 (EDNY 1934).
Regarding claim 2, Toya includes the block copolymer composition of claim 1, wherein the heat-shrinkable film containing the block copolymer composition (column 15, lines 39-40).
Regarding claim 3, Toya includes the block copolymer composition of claim 1, wherein the heat-shrinkable film containing the block copolymer composition (column 15, lines 39-40), wherein the heat-shrinkable film is used for labels, cap seal, wrapping film, covering an article, or molding product (column 8, lines 60-63, column 15, lines 41-50) implicitly teaches a container attached to the heat-shrinkable film.
Conclusion
References Denka Co (JP 2020-164745), Denki Kagaku (JP 11-228783), Denki Kagaku (JP 2000-006321), and Denki Kagaku (JP 2004-269743) were cumulative in nature to the above rejection and thus not set forth.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KUMAR R BHUSHAN whose telephone number is (313)446-4807. The examiner can normally be reached 9.00 AM to 5.50 PM (EST).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, RANDY P GULAKOWSKI can be reached at (571)272-1302. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KUMAR R BHUSHAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1766