CTNF 18/285,045 CTNF 85770 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 § 112 07-30-02 AIA 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. 07-34-01 Claims 8-9 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. Claim 8 recites “further satisfies the slope in the range of 2.00 to 5.00 in the range of 130˚C to 250˚C.” This is indefinite because it is unclear whether the claim requires the slope to be 2-5 in the entire range of 130-250˚C or just one temperature. For example, does a slope of 3 at 130˚C and a slope of 6 at 250˚C meet the claim or not? For the purpose of the instant claims, as long as a slope is in the range of 2-5 at a temperature of 130-250˚C, the claim is met. Additionally, there is an antecedent basis issue with “the slope in the range of 2.00 to 5.00 in the range of 130˚C to 250˚C.” While claim 1 recites slopes at 130˚C and 190˚C, claim 1 does not refer to a slope of 130˚C to 250˚C. 07-34-05 Claim 9 recites the slope at 250˚C is 3.0-4.80. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15-aia AIA Claim(s) 1-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee, Macromolecules, 2020, 53, 7274-7284 . Lee teaches thermoplastic compositions (abstract) and Lee teaches an example where a block copolymer of styrene, ethylene, and hexene is formed (pg. 7278, Tables 1 and 2) followed by blending with polypropylene (pg. 7279, Table 3). Lee teaches the block copolymer is blended with polypropylene in 10, 20, and 30 wt% (Table 3) which corresponds to a ratio of polypropylene to block copolymer of 9:1 to 7:3 or 1:0.11 to 1:0.43 which meets claim 2. Lee does not expressly recite the claimed properties, including the slope of the G’ and G” at 130˚C or 190˚C of the multiblock copolymer (in claim 1), the brightness variation (of claims 3-4), the difference between the slopes (of claims 6-7), and the slope at 250˚C (claims 8-9). However, Lee teaches an example of forming the block polymer having ethylene content of 44.9 wt%, a hexene content of 30.4 wt%, a styrene content of 25 wt%, a Mw of about 146 kDa and a Mw/Mn of 1.7 (Table 2). This is compared to the instant Preparation Examples 1-4 having an ethylene content 42.5-45.0 wt%, a hexene content of 24.8-32.1 wt%, a styrene content of 24.5-26.7 wt%, a Mw of 144,188-180,236 g/mol, and a PDI of 1.67-1.86. See instant specification, Table 2. Thus, the polymer of Lee has an ethylene content, hexene content, styrene content, Mw, and PDI that fall in the scope of the inventive examples of Preparation Examples 1-4. Preparation Examples 1-4 have slopes of the G’ and G” at 130˚C of 2.58-2.94 and at 190˚C of 3.15-4.45. See instant specification, Table 2. Thus, as Lee teaches block copolymers having structural characteristics within the bounds of the structural characteristics of the instant preparation examples, it is expected that the block copolymers of Lee have the same properties as the instant copolymers, including a slope of G’ and G” at 130˚C, 190˚C, and 250˚C, the difference between the slopes, and brightness. Case law holds that a material and its properties are inseparable. In re Spada , 911 F.2d 705, 709, 15 USPQ2d 1655, 1658 (Fed. Cir. 1990). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT C BOYLE whose telephone number is (571)270-7347. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday, 10am-4pm. 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, Arrie (Lanee) Reuther can be reached at (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. /ROBERT C BOYLE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1764 Application/Control Number: 18/285,045 Page 2 Art Unit: 1764 Application/Control Number: 18/285,045 Page 3 Art Unit: 1764 Application/Control Number: 18/285,045 Page 4 Art Unit: 1764 Application/Control Number: 18/285,045 Page 5 Art Unit: 1764
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