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 .
Applicant’s amendment dated 22 May 2026 is hereby acknowledged. Claims 1 and 3-21 as amended are pending, with claims 11-21 withdrawn. All outstanding objections and rejections made in the previous Office Action, and not repeated below, are hereby withdrawn.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior office action.
New grounds of rejection set forth below are necessitated by applicant’s amendment filed on 22 May 2026. For this reason, the present action is properly made final.
Terminal Disclaimer
The terminal disclaimer filed on 22 May 2026 disclaiming the terminal portion of any patent granted on this application which would extend beyond the expiration date of US Patent Nos. 12,492,271 and 12,503,527 and the patent issuing on US Patent App. Ser. No. 18/319,177 has been reviewed and is accepted. The terminal disclaimer has been recorded.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 1 and 3-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2020/218620 A1 (“Yoneda”).
The citations below are to US 2022/0259337, presumed to be a translation of WO 2020/218620 A1.
As to claim 1, Yoneda teaches a method for producing an aqueous dispersion of a fluoropolymer (abstract) by polymerizing fluoromonomers in an aqueous medium in the presence of a polymer (I) (para. 0448).
Specifically, Yoneda teaches forming a fluoroelastomer by this method (para. 0844).
Yoneda teaches the polymer (I) is formed from a monomer of general formula (I)
PNG
media_image1.png
17
124
media_image1.png
Greyscale
(paras. 0093-0094), which formula includes the recited formula (1). While not exemplified, Yoneda teaches that preferred embodiments of the polymer formed from monomer (I) include monomer (2a)
PNG
media_image2.png
22
111
media_image2.png
Greyscale
where A is an anionic group (para. 0236, 0237, specifically monomers such as CF2=CF-O-CFF2COOM and other similar compounds (paras. 0243-0247), where M is the same as defined the same as recited (para. 0209). These compounds meet formula (1) and formula (2) of claim 1. Given that Yoneda teaches the polymer having the recited monomer is a preferred polymer for use in polymerizing fluoropolymers, it would be an obvious modification to employ this polymer as suggested by Yoneda.
As to claim 3, Yoneda teaches the recited weight average molecular weight (para. 0300).
As to claim 4, Yoneda teaches the recited content of monomer (I) as a preferred amount, in particular homopolymers of the monomer (Para. 0298).
As to claim 5, Yoneda teaches the use of polymer (I) in the range of 0.0001 to 2 % by weight based on the dispersion (para. 0849), which includes the recited range.
As to claim 6, Yoneda teaches the recited amount of initiator in forming fluoroelastomer (para. 0851).
As to claim 7, Yoneda teaches polymerizing in the absence of fluorine containing surfactant (para. 0449).
As to claims 8-10, Yoneda teaches a preferred fluoroelastomer of vinylidene fluoride, tetrafluoroethylene, and hexafluoropropylene (para. 0848), which has -CH2- in the main chain due to the presence of vinylidene fluoride.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 22 May 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that the use of the polymer having the specific structure provides advantages in adhesion and polymerization rate, and number of particles, supported by a comparative example presented in a supporting declaration of Sota Yuasa.
Applicant’s argument is not persuasive because the evidence provided is not sufficient evidence of unexpected results to overcome a prima facie finding of obviousness, especially where Yoneda specifically sets forth the recited polymer as a preferred medium for synthesis. See MPEP 716.02(d). The claims broadly cover any fluoroelastomer, with a broadly defined monomer that is present in any amount in the polymer. The recited monomer and polymer is known in the art, specifically used in synthesis of fluoropolymers (see JP H11-181009). None of the evidence, furthermore, suggests any unexpected result arising from the combination of the polymer of the specific monomer and fluoroelastomers in general. The evidence only shows that one specific embodiment had advantages over a specific comparative example.
The rejections under 35 USC 102 have been withdrawn pursuant to the submission of the certified translation of JP application JP 2020-192858 and the common ownership statements with respect to the cited references. The nonstatutory double patenting rejections are withdrawn pursuant to applicant’s terminal disclaimer.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KREGG T BROOKS whose telephone number is (313)446-4888. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday 9 am to 5:30 pm.
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, Arrie Reuther can be reached at (571)270-7026. 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.
/KREGG T BROOKS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1764
Prosecution Insights