CTNF 18/294,031 CTNF 97381 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 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. Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) 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. 07-34-09 Regarding claim 14, the phrase "essentially not NIR-reflective" renders the claim(s) indefinite because the claim(s) include(s) elements not actually disclosed (those encompassed by "essentially not NIR-reflective"), thereby rendering the scope of the claim(s) unascertainable. See MPEP § 2173.05(d). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 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 Claim s 1-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Yanagidate (WO 2015/056715 A1, attached with translation). Kayarkatte (WO 2023031222 A1, attached) is cited as an evidentiary reference . Regarding claims 1-19, Yanagidate teaches a coating composition of 75 parts acrylic polymer, 25 parts butyl etherified melamine resin, 0.4 parts calcium titanate pigment (as a solid solution with manganese) per hundred parts resin (non-carbon-black pigment), 70 parts titanium dioxide pigment (white pigment), and organic solvent (p. 13, [0076]). The composition may further contain scale-like aluminum pigment, having an average particle size in the range of 8-25 micron, in amounts ranging from 0.01-25 parts by weight (p. 8, [0045]; p. 10, [0056]). Alternatively, Yanagidate's first and second pigments (abbreviated UT-771 and MPT-370, respectively) may be present in a ratio of 60:6.0 phr, which corresponds to a weight ratio of 10 (p. 29, Table 1, Ex. 2). Further pigment may be added in amounts ranging from 0.01 to 10 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of resin (p. 11, [0060]). Additional ingredients are permissible but not required (p. 11, [0062]). The solid content of the coating may be 12-60% by mass (p. 11, [0063]). Considering that the total weight of the coating corresponds to the total of the solids weight and the weight of the solvent added, these values correspond to total composition weight ranging from 284-1712 parts, of which the calcium titanate pigment occupies 0.023-0.14 wt%, the titanium dioxide pigment occupies 4.08-24.6 wt%, and the aluminum pigment occupies 0.00058-8.8 wt%. These prior art ranges overlap all claimed ranges with sufficient specificity to anticipate the claimed ranges. See MPEP 2131.03. Yanagidate further teaches that the coating composition may be applied onto a substrate including a film or an outer panel of an automobile body, and cured to form a coating film on the substrate, thereby also forming a coated substrate (p. 16, [0096]; [0100]). Yanagidate does not require that the substrate has any NIR reflectivity before coating. Yanagidate is silent as to the masstone color, hiding, L*, a*, and b* characteristics of the pigments used, and does not limit the automobile applications of the composition. Kayarkatte clarifies that calcium manganese titanium oxide and titanium dioxide containing pigment meet the masstone and CIELAB characteristics of C1 and C2, respectively (p. 18, lines 25-31; p. 19, lines 15-16 and 21-22). Kayarkatte further explains that coatings containing these pigments are known in the art to be suitable for LiDAR visibility applications concerning vehicles (p. 30, line 19). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELIZABETH K AMATO whose telephone number is (571)270-0341. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30 am - 4:30 pm M-F. 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, Rob Jones can be reached at (571) 270-7733. 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. ELIZABETH K. AMATO Examiner Art Unit 1762 /ROBERT S JONES JR/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1762 Application/Control Number: 18/294,031 Page 2 Art Unit: 1762 Application/Control Number: 18/294,031 Page 3 Art Unit: 1762 Application/Control Number: 18/294,031 Page 4 Art Unit: 1762
Prosecution Insights