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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 12/5/2025 fails to comply with 37 CFR 1.98(a)(3)(i) because it does not include a concise explanation of the relevance, as it is presently understood by the individual designated in 37 CFR 1.56(c) most knowledgeable about the content of the information, of each reference listed that is not in the English language. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein and lined through by the Examiner on the attached initialed copy has not been considered.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: the first occurrence of an abbreviation in the claims should be accompanied by the full terminology for the abbreviation (see line 13 – “eq./g”). Appropriate correction is required.
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 applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-16 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 1 recites, “in the general formula (1), with regard to the percentage (%) of the number of polymerizable bonding groups (A) [eq./g] and the number of hydroxyl groups (B) [eq./g], (A)/(B) = 95.0 to 99.5/0.5 to 5.0” (emphasis added) on lines 12-14; however, given that the number of polymerizable bonding groups and the number of hydroxyl groups of a phenylene ether resin may be determined by more than one method and may vary based upon the determination method, “the percentage”, “the number of polymerizable bonding groups”, and “the number of hydroxyl groups” lack clear antecedent basis. It is also noted that the limitation states “with regards to the percentage (%)” but then provides a ratio of “95.0 to 99.5/0.5 to 5.0” such that it is unclear as to whether the sum of the values of (A) and (B) are required to equal 100, e.g., can (A)/(B) = 95/0.5? Or 99.5/5.0? Further, it is unclear whether the limitations in square brackets are meant to be part of the claimed invention, especially given that the specification appears to utilize “equivalent” values in terms of g/eq. in the working examples. Hence, one having ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the claimed invention and could not interpret the metes and bounds of the claim so as to understand how to avoid infringement.
Dependent claims 2-16 do not remedy the above and hence are indefinite for the same reasons.
Claim 5 is (further) 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 5 recites the limitations “the number average molecular weight (Mn)” on line 2 and “the weight average molecular weight (Mw)” on lines 3-4, however, given that Mn and/or Mw may be determined by more than one method, there is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim.
Claims 6, 10, and 14 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. Claims 6, 10, and 14 recite “the mass ratio” on each line 2, respectively, however, there is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claims. Claim 14 also recites “the crosslinking agent” on line 3, however, there is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 7 is 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 7 recites the limitation "the softening point" in line 2, however, given that a softening point of a resin can be determined by more than one method, there is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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.
Claims 1-2, 5, and 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Das (US2018/0170873A1). Das discloses a resin composition comprising a cyclopentadiene-based resin of Formula (1A) or (1B) as described in Paragraphs 0006-0007 as a first component, and a second component that differs from the resin of Formula (1A) or (1B) and may be selected from polybutadienes, butadiene-styrene copolymers, polydicyclopentadienes, poly(phenylene oxide), and bismaleimides (Paragraphs 0047 and 0480-0482); wherein Das specifically discloses an example comprising a resin blend of 4.85 grams of methacrylated polyphenylene ether (PPE) resin commercially available as NORYL SA-9000 from Sabic (the same commercially available PPE resin as utilized in inventive Examples 7 and 14-16 of the present application that based upon the method utilized by the Applicant to determine to the claimed (A)/(B) ratio, has a percentage of 1.1% of hydroxyl groups (B) and thus reads upon the claimed “with regard to the percentage (%) of the number of the polymerizable double bonding groups (A) [eq./g] and the number of the hydroxyl groups (B) [eq./g], (A)/(B) = 95.0 to 99.5/0.5 to 5.0” as recited in instant claim 1, and also inherently having Mn and Mw within the claimed ranges as recited in instant claim 5) mixed with 5.15 grams of a resin produced in Synthesis Example 1 which is a product mixture of cyclopentadienes substituted with one or more vinylbenzyl substituents synthesized from freshly-cracked cyclopentadiene by thermal cracking of dicyclopentadiene (Paragraphs 0500 and 0556), thereby reading upon the broadly claimed “petroleum resin” (particularly in light of the present specification at Paragraph 0028 which recites that the petroleum resin may be made from cyclopentadiene and is preferably a resin made from C9 fraction monomers or dicyclopentadiene monomers as raw materials, and more particularly Paragraphs 0032-0036). Hence, Das discloses a resin composition comprising a phenylene ether resin and a petroleum resin as in instant claim 1, wherein the phenylene ether resin has a structure represented by the claimed general formula (1) of instant claim 1, and more particularly the claimed general formula (2) of instant claim 2, a ratio of (A)/(B) within the claimed range as recited in instant claim 1 as determined by the method utilized by the Applicant, and Mn and Mw values within the claimed ranges of instant claim 5, and given that in the above example, Das forms a thin layer or film of the resin composition reading upon the “curable film” of instant claim 15, and cures the layer while sandwiched between two glass sheets forming a laminate (Paragraph 0556) reading upon the claimed “laminated plate” of instant claim 16, Das anticipates the invention as recited in instant claims 1-2, 5, and 15-16.
Claims 1-2, 5-6, and 8-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Li (CN104629341A, please refer to the attached machine translation for the below cited sections). Li discloses a resin composition used to produce a prepreg, a semi-cured film or resin film, copper-clad laminates, and circuit boards (Abstract, Paragraphs 0001 and 0011-0012), wherein the resin composition comprises (A) a vinyl benzyl polyphenyl ether resin having a structure shown in formula (1) and described in Paragraphs 0013-0025, preferably one or combination of the structures shown in formulas (5), (6), and (7) as described in Paragraphs 0026-0030; and (B) a dicyclopentadiene-vinyl benzyl phenyl ether resin having a structure as shown in formula (8) and described in Paragraphs 0033-0038 which is preferably formed by reacting a hydroxyl-containing dicyclopentadiene-phenol resin having a structure as shown in formula (9) with 4-chloro-methylstyrene, and given that the dicyclopentadiene-phenol resin is formed by reacting dicyclopentadiene - a product of cracking of petroleum fractions, the Examiner takes the position that the dicyclopentadiene-based resin (B) of Li reads upon the broadly claimed “petroleum resin” of the claimed invention, particularly in light of the present specification. Li discloses that the resin composition comprises 100 parts by weight (pbw) of (A) and 10 to 500 pbw, preferably 25 to 400 pbw, and more preferably 25 to 50 pbw of (B) (Paragraph 0043); and may further comprise (C) a diene polymer such as a styrene-butadiene copolymer in a content of 5 to 100 pbw, preferably 10 to 50 pbw (C), based on 100 pbw of (A) (Paragraph 0045); (D) a hydrocarbon petroleum resin as described in Paragraphs 0046-0049 (also reading upon the claimed “petroleum resin”) in a content of 1 to 100 pbw, preferably 5 to 20 pbw (D), based on 100 pbw of (A); and (E) a cyclic olefin copolymer in a content of 1 to 100 pbw, preferably 5 to 20 pbw (E), based on 100 pbw (A) (Paragraph 0050-0053).
Li discloses that to improve substrate properties, the resin composition may be further supplemented with at least one of the following substances or their modifiers (Paragraph 0054): cyanate resin that may include an aromatic group bonded to a dicyclopentadienyl group (Paragraph 0056), maleimide resin such as a bismaleimide resin (Paragraph 0063), isocyanate resin, styrene resin, polybutadiene resin, polyamide resin, polyimide resin, polyester resin, and triallyl isocyanurate (TAIC) and triallyl cyanurate (TAC) (Paragraph 0054). Li specifically discloses various working examples comprising components and in proportions as shown in Tables 1 and 3, including Examples E10 and E11 comprising by weight, 40 parts of a dicyclopentadiene-vinyl benzyl phenyl ether resin (B), produced by reacting PD-9110 – a hydroxy-containing dicyclopentadiene-phenolic resin available from Changchun Resin (reading upon the claimed “petroleum resin”); 50 parts of a methacrylated PPE resin commercially available as SA-9000 from Sabic (inherently reading upon the claimed PPE resin of instant claims 1-2 and 5 as discussed above); 50 parts of OPE-2ST - a vinyl benzyl-terminated PPE resin commercially available from Mitsubishi Gas Chemical; 20 parts of RICON® 257 – a styrene-butadiene-divinylbenzene copolymer commercially available from Cray Valley, having a styrene content of 35% (as evidenced by the attached Cray Valley Technical Update, Ricon® Resins – Hardeners in Polyphenylene Ether (PPE) Based Formulations for CCL and PWB, Table 3; reading upon the claimed thermoplastic elastomer of instant claims 11-13); 10 parts of H-1052 – a hydrogenated diene-butadiene-styrene copolymer commercially available from Asahi Kasei, having a styrene content of 20% (as evidenced by the attached Asahi Kasei TUFTEC™ brochure, pp. 2-3; also reading upon the claimed thermoplastic elastomer of instant claims 11-13); 15 parts of BA-230S – a bisphenol A cyanate resin purchased from Lonza; 15 parts of BTP-6020S – a cyanate ester resin purchased from Lonza; 10 parts of BMI-2300 – a bismaleimide resin (reading upon the claimed crosslinking agent of instant claims 8-9); and 20 parts of BMI-1700 – a bismaleimide resin (also reading upon the claimed crosslinking agent of instant claims 8-9); with both E10 and E11 further comprising 70 parts of flame retardants, 400 parts of silica, and 2.5 parts of peroxide compound. Hence, the resin compositions of Examples E10 and E11 of Li comprise a phenylene ether resin having a structure and ratio (A)/(B) as instantly claimed (50 pbw SA-9000), a petroleum resin (40 pbw resin B), a bismaleimide crosslinking agent (30 pbw total BMI-2300 and BMI-1700), and a styrene-based thermoplastic elastomer with 10-50% by mass polystyrene (30 pbw total of RICON® 257 and TUFTEC™ H-1052), reading upon the claimed components as recited in instant claims 1-2, 5, 8-9, and 11-13, and in contents falling within the claimed mass ratio ranges as recited in instant claims 6, 10, and 14 (given that the instant claims do not exclude additional components); and given that Li utilizes the resin compositions in the examples to produce a curable prepreg film as well as a semi-cured prepreg and copper-clad laminate therefrom (Examples, Paragraphs 0117-0118), the Examiner takes the position that Li anticipates instant claims 1-2, 5-6, and 8-16
Further, if Applicant is of the position that the dicyclopentadiene-based resin (B) disclosed by Li is not a “petroleum resin” as meant by the instant invention, then the Examiner further notes that Li clearly teaches that the resin composition may further contain a hydrocarbon petroleum resin as described in Paragraphs 0046-0049, particularly C5 aliphatic resins, hydrogenated C5 aliphatic resins, C9 aromatic resins, pure monomer C9 aromatic resin, hydrogenated C9 aromatic resins, and C5/C9 aliphatic/aromatic resin, all purchased from EASTMAN as discussed in Paragraph 0049, reading upon the claimed “petroleum resin” of instant claim 1, in a content of 1 to 100 pbw, preferably 5 to 20 pbw (D), based on 100 pbw of (A), such that one skilled in the art would clearly envisage adding said “petroleum resin” to any of the exemplified resin composition of Li, especially given that Li clearly discloses working examples utilizing 10 parts of C5 petroleum resin, or 20 parts total of C5 petroleum resin and C9 petroleum resin, per 100 parts of (A), and states that “the addition of petroleum resin C5 or C9 does not affect the substrate properties, but it can effectively improve the resin filling fluidity during the fabrication of multilayer boards for printed circuits” (Paragraph 0123), and hence, the Examiner takes the position that (alternatively) Li discloses the claimed invention with sufficient specificity to anticipate 1-2, 5-6, and 8-16.
Claims 1-2, 5-6, 8, and 10-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Umehara (US2021/0061996A1). Umehara discloses a polyphenylene ether resin composition, a prepreg comprising the composition, a film formed from the resin composition (as in instant claim 15), a laminate comprising the resin composition (as in instant claim 16), a cured product comprising the resin composition, and a metal-clad laminate comprising a metal foil and an insulating layer formed from the resin or prepreg (as in instant claim 16); wherein the resin composition comprises a modified polyphenylene ether (PPE) compound (A) that is terminally modified with a substituent having a carbon-carbon unsaturated bond, and a crosslinking-type curing agent (B) having two or more carbon-carbon unsaturated double bonds in each molecule (Abstract; Figs. 1-5; Paragraphs 0001 and 0090-0094; Claims). Umehara discloses that the modified PPE includes a modified PPE compound (A-1) represented by formula (1) and a modified PPE compound (A-2) represented by formula (2) as discussed in Paragraphs 0011-0014, in a ratio of (A-1):(A-2) of 5:95 to 95:5 (Paragraph 0057), with an average number of substituents, e.g., number of terminal functional groups, in a molecule terminal per one molecule of the modified PPE in the modified PPE compound being preferably 1 to 5, more preferably 1 to 3, and further preferably 1.5 to 3, wherein the “number of terminal functional groups can be determined, for example, by measuring the number of hydroxyl groups remaining in the obtained modified polyphenylene ether compound, and calculating a decrement from the number of hydroxyl groups of the polyphenylene ether before modification” wherein the “decrement from the number of hydroxyl groups of the polyphenylene ether before modification is the number of terminal functional groups” (Paragraphs 0060-0061). Umehara discloses various examples utilizing as component (A-2), a modified PPE (PPE-1) that is a bifunctional vinylbenzyl modified PPE represented by formula (10) (reading upon the General formula 1 as in instant claim 1, as well as the claimed General formula (2) as in instant claim 2) having a weight average molecular weight (Mw) of 1900, and a number of terminal functional groups of 1.8 produced by modifying an unmodified PPE, namely SA90 from SABIC Innovative Plastics, having a number of terminal hydroxyl groups before modification of 1.9; as well as SA-9000, a bifunctional methacrylate modified PPE available from SABIC, represented by formula (11) (reading upon the claimed General formula (1) of instant claim 1, as well as the claimed General formula (2) of instant claim 2; Examples, Paragraphs 0144-0160; wherein it is again noted that SABIC SA-9000 is the same commercially available PPE as utilized in inventive Examples 7 and 14-16 of the present application, and inherently has a percentage or ratio of “(A)/(B)” as instantly claimed and Mn and Mw within the claimed ranges as recited in instant claim 5). Umehara specifically discloses example compositions comprising either the above PPE-1 or SA-9000 as component (A-2) in combination with dicyclopentadiene compound (DCP) having two terminal double bonds as component (B) (reading upon the claimed “petroleum resin” given that DCP is a byproduct in the steam cracking of naphtha and gas oils), with several examples having mass contents of the modified PPE (A-2) to DCP falling within the claimed mass ratio range of instant claim 6 (Examples, Tables 1-3), and hence, Umehara discloses the claimed invention with sufficient specificity to anticipate instant claims 1-2, 5-6, and 15-16.
With respect to instant claims 8 and 10, Umehara discloses that two or more kinds of exemplified crosslinking-type curing agents may be utilized in the composition (Paragraphs 0081), and given that Umehara specifically discloses at least one example wherein the composition includes the DCP compound and a second crosslinking-type curing agent, namely B-1000 – a polybutadiene oligomer reading upon the claimed “further comprises a crosslinking agent” of instant claim 8 (Examples, Table 2) in a content of 30 mass parts of DCP and B-1000 to 35 mass parts of modified PPE (A-2) thereby falling within the claimed mass ratio range as recited in instant claim 10, the Examiner takes the position that Umehara discloses the claimed invention with sufficient specificity to anticipate instant claims 8 and 10.
With respect to instant claims 11-14, Umehara discloses a comparative example comprising a thermoplastic elastomer (as in instant claim 11), namely TR2003 from JSR Corporation – a styrene-butadiene styrene copolymer that has 43wt% styrene (as evidenced by Nakamura, US2007/0015871A1, Paragraphs 0044 and 0080) reading upon the claimed styrene-based thermoplastic elastomer comprising 10 to 50% by mass of a polystyrene site as in instant claims 12-13) in a content of 35 parts, with 35 parts of the modified PPE-1, and 30 parts of DCP as the crosslinking-type curing agent, reading upon both the claimed petroleum resin as well as the claimed crosslinking agent (Comparative Example 6, Table 3), thereby reading upon the mass ratio as in instant claim 14, and hence, Comparative Example 6 of Umehara anticipates instant claims 11-14.
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.
Alternatively, claims 1-2, 5-6, and 8-16 as well as claims 3-4 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li (CN104629341A, please refer to the attached machine translation for the below cited sections) as applied above to claims 1-2, 5-6, and 8-16, and further discussed below.
The teachings of Li are discussed in detail above and although the Examiner is of the position that the reference is anticipatory with respect to claims 1-2, 5-6, and 8-16, the Examiner alternatively takes the position that the claimed invention as recited in instant claims 1-2, 5-6, and 8-16 would have been obvious over the teachings of Li given that it is prima facie obviousness to choose from a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, with a reasonable expectation of success.
With respect to instant claims 3-4, as noted above, Li teaches that the ethylene benzyl polyphenylene ether resin (A) comprises a structure as shown in formula (1) which encompasses the claimed general formula (5) as recited in instant claims 3-4, and may preferably comprise one or a combination of structures shown in formulas (5), (6), and (7) (Paragraphs 0013-0032); and although Li does not specifically teach a ratio (A)/(B) of the percentage of the number of polymerizable double bonding groups (A) and the number of hydroxyl groups (B) when utilizing a structure reading upon the claimed formula (5) as recited in instant claims 3-4, given that Li teaches examples utilizing Sabic SA-9000 which reads upon the claimed ratio and has a similar structure, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize a similar percent or ratio of terminal functional groups as with SA-9000 for the other suitable PPE structures, or to simply substitute equivalent backbone structures as taught by Li as being suitable for the invention such that absent any clear showing of criticality and/or unexpected results, the claimed invention as recited in instant claims 3-4 would have been obvious over the teachings of Li.
With respect to instant claim 7, as noted above, Li clearly teaches that the resin composition may comprise a C5 or C9 hydrocarbon petroleum resin, particularly those available from EASTMAN, and given that commercially available EASTMAN C9 petroleum resins are known to have softening points greater than 80°C as in instant claim 7 (as evidenced by the attached EASTMAN Tackifier Center webpage for C9, Aromatic Resins, Table 1), the claimed invention as recited in instant claim 7 would have been obvious over the teachings of Li given that it is prima facie obviousness to choose from a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, with a reasonable expectation of success.
Citation of pertinent prior art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Hu (US2021/0171770A1) teaches a resin composition as well as an article made from the resin composition such as a prepreg, a resin film, a laminate or a printed circuit board by curing the resin composition, wherein the resin composition comprises (A) a maleimide resin, particularly a bismaleimide resin; (B) a multifunctional vinylsilane; and (C) a vinyl-containing polyphenylene ether resin, particularly comprising a vinyl benzyl-terminated polyphenylene ether resin and/or a methacrylate-terminated polyphenylene ether resin preferred embodiments utilizing Sabic SA-9000 and/or Mitsubishi OPE-2st; and the composition may further comprise a polyolefin resin that may be a styrene-butadiene copolymer, petroleum resin, and combinations thereof. Lane (USPN 6,306,963) teaches a thermosetting resin comprising: “a) one or more ethylenically unsaturated aromatic monomers, with fire retardation being optionally contributed by one halogenated monomer, b) a vinyl-terminated polybutadiene or butadiene-styrene copolymer containing either a urethane or an ester group, and c) a chemically modified polyphenylene ether resin, preferably low molecular weight chemically modified polyphenylene ether resin,” wherein the chemically modified polyphenylene ether resin (CMPPE) is converted from a PPE resin such as by reacting the terminal phenolic groups with a capping agent to preferably provide a methacrylate-capped PPE, wherein the PPE is preferably converted to the CMPPE product with more than 98%, or more preferably 99%, or most preferably substantially 100% conversion such that there is substantially no residual phenolic hydroxyl groups remining after the chemical modification. Arisawa (US2021/0079215A1) teaches a resin composition, a prepreg, film and metal foil including the composition, and a metal-clad laminate formed therefrom, wherein the resin composition comprises a modified polyphenylene ether compound terminally modified with a substituent having an unsaturated carbon-carbon double bond, wherein the average number of substituents or number of terminal functional groups per molecule is preferably 1 to 5, more preferably 1 to 3, and still more preferably 1.5 to 3, wherein “[i]f the number of such terminal functional groups is too small, cured products having sufficient heat resistance tend to be less likely to be obtained” while “[i]f the number of terminal functional groups is too large, the reactivity becomes excessively high, which may cause problems such as deterioration in the storability of the resin composition or deterioration in the flow properties of the resin composition, for example. That is, when such a modified polyphenylene ether compound is used, insufficient flow properties and the like cause molding defects such as void formation during multilayer molding, which may cause a moldability problem that makes it difficult to obtain a wiring board having high reliability.” He (CN106336662A, machine translation also attached) teaches a thermosetting resin composition suitable for preparing a prepreg and laminated board for a printed circuit board wherein the resin composition comprises, by weight, (a) 10 to 100 parts of a hydrocarbon resin, (b) 20 to 100 parts of maleimide ester, (c) 0.1 to 8 parts of initiator, (d) 10 to 100 parts of allyl modified polyphenylene oxide resin 10 to 100 parts, and further (e) 1 to 100 parts of an additional component such as a petroleum resin that may be a C9 or C5/C9 petroleum resin added in a proper amount such that not only dielectric performance and bonding performance can be further optimized, but also the flow performance of the resin system can be improved.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MONIQUE R JACKSON whose telephone number is (571)272-1508. The examiner can normally be reached Mondays-Thursdays from 10:00AM-5:00PM.
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, Callie Shosho can be reached at 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.
/MONIQUE R JACKSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1787