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 the specie,
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in the reply filed on 3/16/2026 is acknowledged.
As the elected specie is found to be free of art, the search has been extended to the compound, 1-benzyl-3-(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)-4,5-dimethyl-imidazol-2-ylidene silver(I) bromide.
Claims 1, 2, 7, 8, 10, 15, 16, 17, 20, 29-31, 39, 41 read on the selected specie, 1-benzyl-3-(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)-imidazol-2-ylidene silver(I) chloride.
Claims 44, 45, 52, 53, 57, and 61 are withdrawn as they are directed to non-elected specie.
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, 2, 7, 8, 10, 15, 29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bouhraraet al., Dalton Trans., 2011, 40, 2995-2999.
Bouhraraet et al. teaches 1-benzyl-3-(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)-imidazol-2-ylidene silver(I) chloride as compound 2-Ag (see page 2995, col. 2, Scheme 1). Bouhraraet et al. also teaches the intermolecule addition of water and alcohol to an alkynes can be enhanced using catalytic systems containing Hg, Pt, Ag, Ir, and Au (see page 2995, col. 1, first paragraph).
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) 30 and 31 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bouhraraet al.
Bouhraraet et al. teaches 1-benzyl-3-(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)-imidazol-2-ylidene silver(I) chloride as compound 2-Ag (see page 2995, col. 2, Scheme 1). Bouhraraet et al. also teaches the intermolecule addition of water and alcohol to an alkynes can be enhanced using catalytic systems containing Hg, Pt, Ag, Ir, and Au (see page 2995, col. 1, first paragraph). Bouhraraet al. teaches the use of gold (I) compound for reaction:
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(see page 2995, col. 2)
The Lewis acid used as AgSbF6, solvent as 1,40dioxane and the ratio with water as 2:1.
Bouhraraet al. does not expressly teach the use of Silver compound.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to use the 2-Ag compound instead of the gold compound for the reaction.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to use the 2-Ag compound instead of the gold compound for the reaction. It is known in the art that silver or gold system as useful as catalyst for addition water molecules to an alkyne compound, according to Bouhraraet al. Therefore, using 2-Ag instead of 2-Au compound in the catalytic reaction would be reasonably expected to be useful.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 16, 17, 20, 39, 41 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAN MING R HUI whose telephone number is (571)272-0626. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 9:30-5:30.
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/SAN MING R HUI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1627
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