Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/283,107

ACRYLIC RUBBER, RUBBER COMPOSITION AND RUBBER CROSSLINKED PRODUCT

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Sep 20, 2023
Examiner
KAUCHER, MARK S
Art Unit
1764
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Zeon Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
72%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 10m
To Grant
86%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 72% — above average
72%
Career Allow Rate
702 granted / 976 resolved
+6.9% vs TC avg
Moderate +14% lift
Without
With
+14.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
38 currently pending
Career history
1014
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.5%
-39.5% vs TC avg
§103
41.0%
+1.0% vs TC avg
§102
25.5%
-14.5% vs TC avg
§112
19.8%
-20.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 976 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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. Specification The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: In table 1, in the eleventh line, “ vinylmonochloroacetate ” is misspelt as “ vynilmonochloroacetate ”. 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. Claim(s) 1-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by JP 2005 116610 (herein Masaki ). In setting forth the instant rejection, a machine translation has been relied upon. The machine translation and the JP document were supplied with the IDS filed 9/20/23. As to claim s 1 -3 , Masaki discloses an acrylic rubber comprising ethylhexyl acrylate ( ethylhexyl acrylic acid), acrylic acid and acrylamide in a weight ratio of 82/3/15. See preparation example 1. Thus, acrylic acid reads on the crosslinkable group containing monomer unit selected from carboxyl group containing and the acrylamide is present in 15 wt %. As to claims 4-5, in the examples, the adhesive (acrylic rubber) is crosslinked with epoxy crosslinking agent to form a crosslinked rubber. See preparation example 1. Claim(s) 1- 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by CN 103910826 (herein Luo ). In setting forth the instant rejection, a machine translation has been relied upon. The machine translation and the CN document were supplied with the IDS filed 9/20/23. As to claims 1-3, Luo discloses an acrylic rubber comprising n-butyl acrylate , isooctyl acrylate, acrylic acid, acrylamide and allyl ethylene glycol sulfate in a weight ratio of 40/20/10/10/10 . See examples such as production embodiment 2 . Thus, acrylic acid and allyl ethylene glycol sulfate read on the crosslinkable group containing monomer unit selected from carboxyl group containing and the acrylamide is present in 1 0 wt %. Claim(s) 1-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by JP 2017-532432 (herein Akazawa ). In setting forth the instant rejection, a machine translation has been relied upon. The machine translation and the JP document were supplied with the IDS filed 9/20/23. As to claims 1-3, Akazawa discloses an acrylic rubber comprising 2- ethylhexyl acrylate (EHA), acrylamide ( Acm ) and acrylic acid (AA) in a weight ratio of 92.5/7/0.5 . See acrylic copolymer 2 . Thus, acrylic acid reads on the crosslinkable group containing monomer unit selected from carboxyl group containing and the acrylamide is present in 7 wt %. As to claims 4-5, acrylic rubber adhesive is crosslinked with a crosslinking agent to form a crosslinked rubber. See paragraph 21 and examples. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT MARK S KAUCHER whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-7340 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT M-F 8-6 PM EST . 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. /MARK S KAUCHER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1764
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 20, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 17, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

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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
72%
Grant Probability
86%
With Interview (+14.2%)
2y 10m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 976 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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