DETAILED ACTION
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.
(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 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.
Claims 1, 3-7, and 10-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Yamanaka et al. (US 12,492,271; relying on foreign priority date of November 19, 2019).
Example 1 of Yamanaka et al. teaches preparation of a homopolymer of a perfluoroallyl ether monomer CH2=CF-CF2O-CF(CF3)COOH using 0.5 mole % of ammonium persulfate as the initiator. The amount of monomer (220 g in 513 g aqueous medium) is 43 % based on the amount of aqueous medium. Polymerization is carried under a nitrogen atmosphere. According to inventors, the oxygen content in a nitrogen atmosphere is 500 ppm by volume or less (col. 27, line 45). A crude product is subjected to ultrafiltration to remove dimer and trimer (less than 1 ppm) resulting in a homopolymer having a weight average molecular weight of 18 × 104 and a number average molecular weight of 14 × 104.
Claims 1-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Nanba et al. (US 12,503,527; relying on foreign priority date of November 19, 2019).
Nanba et al. teaches preparation of a polymer of a perfluoroallyl ether monomer (11) having general formula CX2=CY-CF2-O-Rf-A wherein at least one of X and Y is F, Rf is a fluorine-containing alkylene group having 1 to 40 carbon atoms, and A is -COOM, -SO3M, -OSO3M, or -C(CF3)2OM, where M is H, a metal atom, NR4, imidazolium, pyridinium, or phosphonium (col. 21, line 36). Polymerization is carried out in the presence of an initiator (ammonium persulfate) at an initiator concentration of 0.0001 to 10 % by mass (col. 25, line 28; col. 26, line 3). Polymerization is carried out in aqueous medium at an oxygen concentration of 500 ppm volume or less, with an optimal oxygen concentration of 50 ppm by volume or less (col. 23, line 58; col. 24, line 1) and at a reaction temperature of 59 ºC or lower (col. 24, line 7). The amount of monomer (11) at the outset of polymerization is 40 % by mass or more based on the amount of aqueous medium (col. 26, line 29). The polymer contains at least 50 mole % or more of monomer (11), and in a particular embodiment, the polymer is a homopolymer containing 100 % of monomer (11) (col. 22, line 5). A resulting homopolymer has a weight average molecular weight of 40.0 × 104 or more and a number average molecular weight of 8.0 × 104 or more (col. 22, line 21 and 27). The amount of polymer in the crude reaction mixture is 2.0 % by mass or more (col. 28, line 27). In a subsequent step, the homopolymer may be subjected to ultrafiltration, microfiltration, or dialysis membrane treatment to remove unreacted monomer, dimer and trimer (col. 27, lines 22-30).
Claims 19 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nanba et al. (US 12,503,527).
The discussion of the disclosure of the prior art from the preceding paragraph is incorporated here by reference. In a further aspect of the invention, a fluoromonomer in aqueous medium is polymerized in the presence of the polymer derived from perfluoroallyl ether monomer (11). The resulting aqueous dispersion has a variety of uses. In one embodiment, the aqueous dispersion is mixed with organic or inorganic filler to form a composition to coat a metal or ceramic substrate to give the substrate non-stickiness, a low coefficient of friction, and abrasion resistance (col. 70, lines 40-45). One of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to make a coating composition using the composition disclosed in the prior art.
Claims 1, 3-7, and 10-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Yamanaka et al. (WO 2021/100835).
Yamanaka et al. (WO 2021/100835) is the international counterpart of Yamanaka et al. (US 12,492,271). The discussion of the disclosure of the prior art from preceding paragraph 4 is incorporated here by reference.
Applicant cannot rely upon the certified copy of the foreign priority application to overcome this rejection because a translation of said application has not been made of record in accordance with 37 CFR 1.55. When an English language translation of a non-English language foreign application is required, the translation must be that of the certified copy (of the foreign application as filed) submitted together with a statement that the translation of the certified copy is accurate. See MPEP §§ 215 and 216.
Claims 1-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Nanba et al. (WO 2021/100836).
Nanba et al. (WO 2021/100836) is the international counterpart of Nanba et al. (US 12,503,527). The discussion of the disclosure of the prior art from preceding paragraph 5 is incorporated here by reference.
Applicant cannot rely upon the certified copy of the foreign priority application to overcome this rejection because a translation of said application has not been made of record in accordance with 37 CFR 1.55. When an English language translation of a non-English language foreign application is required, the translation must be that of the certified copy (of the foreign application as filed) submitted together with a statement that the translation of the certified copy is accurate. See MPEP §§ 215 and 216.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Rip A. Lee whose telephone number is (571)272-1104. The examiner can be reached on Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Robert 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.
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/RIP A LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1762 January 29, 2026