Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/282,567

EMULSIFYING COMPOSITION FOR BITUMEN

Non-Final OA §103§112
Filed
Sep 18, 2023
Examiner
LEE, DORIS L
Art Unit
1764
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
VALOCHEM
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
58%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 2m
To Grant
67%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 58% of resolved cases
58%
Career Allow Rate
609 granted / 1045 resolved
-6.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +9% lift
Without
With
+8.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 2m
Avg Prosecution
58 currently pending
Career history
1103
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.7%
-39.3% vs TC avg
§103
55.4%
+15.4% vs TC avg
§102
15.1%
-24.9% vs TC avg
§112
14.2%
-25.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1045 resolved cases

Office Action

§103 §112
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. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 10 1 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows: Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title. Regarding claim 6 and 7 , the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because it is a use claim and not a process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter. Please amend it to a process (method) claim. 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 appl icant regards as his invention. Claim s 1-8 are 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. Regarding claim 1, please address the following issues: Amend “Emulsifier composition” to read “An emulsifier composition” The structure has a name of “Formula I 1111” below the actual structure drawing. Please amend it to read “formula I” to match the recitation in the claim. Delete the phrase “preferably between 5 and 20 carbon atoms,” because it’s unclear if that limitation is positively recited Delete the phrase “ preferabl y R is an alkyl chain containing at least on primary, secondary, tertiary or quaternary amine function” because it’s unclear if that limitation is positively recite The letters “X”, “Y” and “Z” appear to be upper case and the structure has them as lower case. Please amend these letters to be lowercase to match the structure The phrase “is comprised between” should be amended to read “is between” Regarding claim 2 , please address the following issues: Amend “Emulsifying composition” to read “The emulsifying composition” Amend “characterized in that” to read “wherein” Amend “comprising, preferably consisting of,” to read “consisting of” Regarding claim 3 , please address the following issues: Amend “Emulsifier” to read “The emulsifier” Amend “characterized in that” to read “wherein” Amend “is chosen from fatty” to read “is chosen from the group consisting of fatty” Please delete the limitation “more advantageously, the said….. ethoxylated tallow fatty polyamides” because the phase “more advantageously” renders the claim unclear if the limitations which follow it are positively recited. Regarding claim 4 , please address the following issues: Amend “ Bituminous emulsion” to read “A bituminous emulsion” Amend “ characterized in that” to read “wherein” Please delete the limitations which start with “more advantageously ” and “even more advantageously” Regarding claim 5 , please address the following issues: Please amend “Bituminous emulsion” to read “A bituminous emulsion” Please amend “characterized in that” to read “wherein” Please delete the word “comprised” from the phrase “is comprised between” Regarding claim 6 , please address the following issues: This is considered a use claim, as such, is considered indefinite and should be reworded into a process(method) -type claim The structure has a name of “Formula I 1111” below the actual structure drawing. Please amend it to read “formula I” to match the recitation in the claim. Delete the phrase “preferably between 5 and 20 carbon atoms,” because it’s unclear if that limitation is positively recited Delete the phrase “ preferabl y R is an alkyl chain containing at least on primary, secondary, tertiary or quaternary amine function” because it’s unclear if that limitation is positively recite The letters “X”, “Y” and “Z” appear to be upper case and the structure has them as lower case. Please amend these letters to be lowercase to match the structure The phrase “is comprised between” should be amended to read “is between” Regarding claim 7 , please address the following issues: This is considered a use claim, as such, is considered indefinite and should be reworded into a process(method) -type claim The first structure has a name of “Formula II II” below the actual structure drawing. Please amend it to read “formula II” to match the recitation in the claim. The letters “X” and “Y” appear to be upper case and the structure has them as lower case. Please amend these letters to be lowercase to match the structure The phrase “is comprised between” should be amended to read “is between” The second structure has a name of “Formula III II” below the actual structure drawing. Please amend it to read “formula III” to match the recitation in the claim. The second structure appears to be missing a chemical bond between R 1 and N Delete the phrase “preferably between 5 and 20 carbon atoms,” because it’s unclear if that limitation is positively recited (2 occurrences) Delete the phrase “ preferably R 1 is an alkyl chain containing at least on primary, secondary, tertiary or quaternary amine function” because it’s unclear if that limitation is positively recite Delete the phrase “ preferably R 2 and/or R 3 is an alkyl chain containing at least on primary, secondary, tertiary or quaternary amine function” because it’s unclear if that limitation is positively recited Regarding claim 8 , please address the following issues : Please delete the limitations which start with “more advantageously ” and “even more advantageously” 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) 1-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jorda et al (WO 2019/180379, please refer to US 2021/0024753 for English language equivalent and mapping) in view of Cao et al, Influences of the Molecular Weight and Its Distribution of Poly(styrene-alt-octadecyl maleimide) as Flow Improver for Crude Oils, Energy Fuels, 2016, 30, 2721-2728 (cited in IDS). Regarding claim s 1 - 2 , Jorda teaches a bitumen emulsion which incorporates a cationic emulsifier ([0011]). Jorda teaches that additives can be included in the composition ([0058]), however, fails to teach a copolymer of formula I . Cao teaches a styrene-alt-octadecyl maleimide as an additive to crude oil (Abstract). This reads on formula I when x = 0. Cao teaches that the z can be about 0.45-0.46 (Table 1). and therefore, y can be calculated to range from 0.55-0.54 and R is octadecylamine. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the styrene-alt-octadecyl maleimide of Cao be used as and additive of Jorda. One would have been motivated to do so in order to improve the flow of the composition (Cao, page 2722). Regarding claim 3 , Jorda teaches that the emulsifier is a fatty polyamine ([0026]) . Regarding claim 4 , modified Jorda teaches that the copolymer is present in the amount of 0.1 wt % (Cao, page 2723, first paragraph ) . Regarding claim 5 , Jorda teaches that the bi tuminous emulsion contains bitumen (the binder) in an amount form 30-70% by weight ([0062]). Regarding claim 6 , please see above rejection for the compositional elements of the claim. Modified Jorda teaches the use of the copolymer of formula I for the preparation of a cationic bituminous emulsion (Abstract). Regarding claim 7 , modified Jorda teaches that the copolymer is obtained by reacting styrene maleic anhydride with octadecyl amine (Cao, page 2722 section 2.2.2). Regarding claim 8 , please see above rejection for the compositional elements of the claim. Jorda teaches a process for preparing a bi tuminous emulsion comprising a step of mixing a bituminous binder with the emulsifying composition according to claim 1 ([0065]). Modified Jorda teaches that the copolymer is present in the amount of 0.1 wt. % (Cao, page 2723, first paragraph ) . Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT DORIS L LEE whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-3872 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT M-F 8 am - 5 pm . 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 Arrie Lanee Reuther can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-270-7026 . 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. FILLIN "Examiner Stamp" \* MERGEFORMAT DORIS L. LEE Primary Examiner Art Unit 1764 /DORIS L LEE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1764
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Prosecution Timeline

Sep 18, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 20, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103, §112 (current)

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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
58%
Grant Probability
67%
With Interview (+8.7%)
3y 2m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1045 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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