Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/281,880

CHLORINATED VINYL CHLORIDE RESIN COMPOSITION AND CHLORINATED VINYL CHLORIDE RESIN MOLDED BODY

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Sep 13, 2023
Examiner
AHMED, SHEEBA
Art Unit
1787
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Sekisui Chemical Co. Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
80%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 1m
To Grant
95%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 80% — above average
80%
Career Allow Rate
890 granted / 1105 resolved
+15.5% vs TC avg
Moderate +14% lift
Without
With
+14.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 1m
Avg Prosecution
37 currently pending
Career history
1142
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.4%
-39.6% vs TC avg
§103
34.5%
-5.5% vs TC avg
§102
33.7%
-6.3% vs TC avg
§112
20.3%
-19.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1105 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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. 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. 2. Claims 1 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsumura et al. (US 2017/0183491 A1). Matsumura et al. disclose a resin composition (equivalent to the chlorinated polyvinyl chloride resin composition of the claimed invention) for molding that allows production of a molded body having excellent thermal stability as well as high flexibility and strength and a loss in quantity on heating at 230° C. of less than 2 mass %. . The resin composition for molding contains a chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (equivalent to the chlorinated polyvinyl chloride of the claimed i nvention) (hereinafter also referred to as a “CPVC”) and a thermal stabilizer (equivalent to the thermal stabilizer of the claimed invention) . As the PVC, a vinyl chloride homopolymer, a copolymer of a vinyl chloride monomer and a monomer with unsaturated bond(s) that is copolymerizable with the vinyl chloride monomer, can be used. These polymers may be used singly or in combinations of two or more. Examples of the monomer with unsaturated bond(s) that is copolymerizable with the vinyl chloride monomer include v inyl halides such as vinylidene chloride and vinylidene fluoride (meeting the limitation that the chlorinated polyvinyl chloride contains a vinylidene unit ) . The resin composition may be optionally mixed with additives such as lubricants, processing aids, impact modifiers, heat resistance improvers, ultraviolet absorbents, light stabilizers, fillers, thermoplastic elastomers, and pigments. Examples of the impact modifiers include, but are not particularly limited to, methyl methacrylate-butadiene-styrene copolymers (MBS), chlorinated polyethylene (equivalent to the chlorinated polyethylene of the claimed invention) , and acrylic rubber. (See Abstract and paragraphs 0014, 0023, 0025-0031, 0051, 0052, 0082, 0091, and 0096). With regards to the limitation that the chlorinated polyvinyl chloride resin contain s a vinylidene unit in an amount of 3 to 32% by mass and the mass ratio of the chlorinated polyethylene to the thermal stabilizer (chlorinated polyethylene/thermal stabilizer) is 1.0 to 7.0, t he Examiner would like to point out that concentrations are deemed to be obvious routine optimizations to one of ordinary skill in the art, motivated by the desire to obtain the required properties and differences in concentration will not support the patentability of subject matter encompassed by the prior art unless there is evidence indicating such concentrations are critical. Conclusion 3. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT SHEEBA AHMED whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-1504 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday-Thursday 7am-6pm . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT CALLIE SHOSHO can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-272-1123 . 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. /SHEEBA AHMED/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1787
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Prosecution Timeline

Sep 13, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 08, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12594750
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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
80%
Grant Probability
95%
With Interview (+14.2%)
3y 1m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1105 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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