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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Claims 1-9 in the reply filed on 02/19/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 10-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention.
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 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Rychter et al. Study of Aliphatic-Aromatic Copolyester Degradation in Sandy Soil and Its Ecotoxicological Impact, Biomacromolecules 2010, 11, 839-847.
Regarding claims 1-5, Rychter teaches biodegradable poly[(1,4-butylene terephthalate)-co-(1,4-butylene adipate)], BTA and its microstructure which is evaluated by NMR (Introduction). Rychter provides three dyad structures as shown below (Rychter Figure 1.). Dyad A-A where butanediol is bonded between two aliphatic adipic acid units. Dyad A-T where the butanediol is bonded between aromatic terephthalic acid and aliphatic adipic acid. Dyad T-T where the butanediol is bonded between two aromatic terephthalic acid units. The A-A dyads are present in the BTA polymer at 0.279 mol fraction with respect to total diols, which corresponds to applicant’s soft segment ratio or first ratio. The A-T dyads are present in the BTA polymer at mol fraction 0.499 with respect to total diols, and corresponds to applicant’s second ratio (Table 1, 1H NMR).
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Therefore, the invention as claimed is fully anticipated by Rychter as disclosing each limitation of the rejected claims as per discussion above.
Regarding claims 6-9, Rychter anticipates the poly[(1,4-butylene terephthalate)-co-(1,4-butylene adipate)] BTA, with the required first and second ratios of diol quantities, therefore the claimed properties would be inherently satisfied. Where the claimed and prior art products are identical or substantially identical in structure or composition, or are produced by identical or substantially identical processes, a prima facie case of either anticipation or obviousness has been established. In re Best, 562 F.2d 1252, 1255, 195 USPQ 430, 433 (CCPA 1977). "When the PTO shows a sound basis for believing that the products of the applicant and the prior art are the same, the applicant has the burden of showing that they are not." In re Spada, 911 F.2d 705, 709, 15 USPQ2d 1655, 1658 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
Conclusion
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/S.M.D./
Examiner
Art Unit 1765
/JOHN M COONEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1765