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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
The applicant has elected Species IA1 (claims 1-5 and 8) without traverse.
This restriction is made FINAL. See previous action for the reasons of applying restriction.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-5 and 8 is(are) rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Ryu et al. (US 20220389154, listed on IDS).
As to claims 1-5 and 8, Ryu (claims, abs., Ex.7, Table 1-2) discloses a composition comprising cellulose nano-crystal and a biodegradable polyester having a Mn of 50-70k (191) that meets the range of instant pgpub [0143], a monomer ratio of 1,4-butanediol//adipic acid/ terephthalic acid (1//0.42/0.58) meets the range of instant pgpub [0097-98], and the monomers of instant examples and claim 8. The terephthalic acid used has a and D50 of 50 microns and a standard deviation of 20 (Table 1, claim 6), falling within the range of claim 4. The polyester has a Tc of 60 °C and heat of crystal fusion of 19.3 J/g, falling within the range of claim 3.
Ryu is silent on the claimed properties of peaks in XRD, crystal size, FWHM, etc. of instant claims 1-2. According to instant Table 1-2, the particle size of terephthalic acid appears to be critical to the claimed properties. The polyester of Ex.7 would inherently exhibit the claimed peaks in XRD, crystal size, FWHM, etc. of instant claims 1-2, because in view of the substantially identical composition (in this case, the disclosed polymer structure, Mn, size of terephthalic acid, and support of the DSC data), it appears that the adduct would have inherently possessed the claimed properties. See MPEP § 2112.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHANE FANG whose telephone number is (571)270-7378. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Thurs. 8am-6pm. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Randy Gulakowski can be reached on 571.572.1302. 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 would like assistance 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.
/SHANE FANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1766
Prosecution Insights