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. 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. 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 -4, 6-11, 15 -17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Hashimoto et al. US 2020/0149226 . Hashimoto et al. discloses a road paving method comprising the steps of: Providing an asphalt composition including: Aggregate; and a binder comprising: 85% by weight Asphalt, 20% by weight or less polyester resin and 0.5% or more EVA. Wherein the polyester resin contains a structural unit derived from an alcohol component and a structural unit derived from a dicarboxylic acid component. [0036- 0055]. Although Hashimoto et al. do not disclose the vinyl based polymer contains a structural unit derived from styrene, Hashimoto et al. do disclose the use of EVA [0037]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that EVA as taught by Hashimoto et al. contains a styrene structural unit. With respect to claims 2-4 Hashimoto et al. discloses the alcohol component contains an alkylene oxide adduct of bisphenol A; and the carboxylic acid component contains an aromatic dicarboxylic acid. [ 004, 0053-0060, 0132]. With respect to claims 6-11 Hashimoto et al. discloses the use of EVA Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention the composition of Hashimoto et al. includes the limitations cited . See [0050, 0064]. With respect to claims 15-17 Hashimoto et al. discloses a road paving method [0036-0055]; comprising the steps of: Providing an asphalt composition including: Aggregate; and a binder comprising: 85% by weight Asphalt, 20% by weight or less polyester resin and 0.5% or more EVA. Wherein the polyester resin contains a structural unit derived from an alcohol component and a structural unit derived from a dicarboxylic acid component. Applying a layer of said paving mixture to a roadway to form a traffic surface. Although Hashimoto et al. do not disclose the vinyl based polymer contains a structural unit derived from styrene, Hashimoto et al. do disclose the use of EVA [0037]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that EVA as taught by Hashimoto et al. contains a styrene structural unit. 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. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. Claim (s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hashimoto et al. US 2020/0149226 in view of Moran et al. US 4,873,275 . Hashimoto et al. discloses a road paving method comprising the steps of: Providing an asphalt composition including: 85% by weight Asphalt, 20% by weight or less polyester resin and 0.5% or more EVA. Wherein the polyester resin contains a structural unit derived from an alcohol component and a structural unit derived from a dicarboxylic acid component. [0036-0055]. Although Hashimoto et al. do not disclose the vinyl based polymer contains a structural unit derived from an alkyl(meth)acrylate) having an alkyl group having 4-22 carbon atoms . However, Moran et al. teach it is known asphalt compositions can be modified by the addition of Ethylene with vinyl acetate(EVA) or lower alkyl esters of acrylic acid and methacrylic acid, such as Ethylene- AlkylMethacrylate (EAM) to improve stability and rheological properties of the asphalt composition. Col. 2, lns . 45-68. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the asphalt composition of Hashimoto et al. with EVA or EAM as taught by Moran since both are art recognized equivalents. Claim (s) 12-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hashimoto et al. US 2020/0149226. Hashimoto et al. discloses an asphalt composition including: Aggregate; and a binder comprising: 85% by weight Asphalt, 20% by weight or less polyester resin and 0.5% or more EVA. Wherein the polyester resin contains a structural unit derived from an alcohol component and a structural unit derived from a dicarboxylic acid component. [0036-0055]. Although Hashimoto et al. do not disclose the component %’s claimed , it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to find an optimum range of component parts when the components of said composition are already known. Conclusion 5 . Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT RAYMOND W ADDIE whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-6986 . The examiner can normally be reached on FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT m-f 7:30-12:30, then 6-9pm . 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, Chris Sebesta can be reached on FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-272- 0547 . The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you need help from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /RAYMOND W ADDIE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3671 3/20/2026