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 .
Claims 1-13 are currently pending in this Application. Claims 7-13 are withdrawn from further consideration by the Examiner, 37 C.F.R. § 1.142(b), as being drawn to a non-elected invention. The withdrawn subject matter is patentably distinct from the elected subject matter as it differs in structure and element and would require separate search considerations. In addition, a reference, which anticipates one group, would not render obvious the other.
Information Disclosure Statement
Applicant’s Information Disclosure Statement, filed on July 06, 2023 has been considered. Please refer to Applicant’s copies of the 1449 submitted herewith.
Response to Restriction
Applicants’ election, with traverse, the invention of Group I, claims 1-6, drawn to a process of preparing product of Formula I,
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, in response filed December 23, 2025 is acknowledged.
Applicants traversal of the restriction requirement was fully considered but was not found to be persuasive because of the following reasons: the elected invention was not found to be allowable and the prior art applicable to the invention of Group II would not likely be applicable to the invention of Group I. In the instant case, there is a prior art that applies to the invention of Group II. Therefore, the restriction requirement is considered proper and is maintained.
Applicant is reminded that upon the cancellation of claims to a non-elected invention, the inventorship must be amended in compliance with 37 CFR 1.48(b) if one or more of the currently named inventors is no longer an inventor of at least one claim remaining in the application. Any amendment of inventorship must be accompanied by a petition under 37 CFR 1.48(b) and by the fee required under 37 CFR 1.17(i).
Double Patenting
A rejection based on double patenting of the "same invention" type finds its support in the language of 35 U.S.C. 101 which states that "whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process ... may obtain a patent therefor ..." (Emphasis added). Thus, the term "same invention," in this context, means an invention drawn to identical subject matter. See Miller v. Eagle Mfg. Co., 151 U.S. 186 (1894); In re Ockert, 245 F.2d 467, 114 USPQ 330 (CCPA 1957); and In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970).
A statutory type (35 U.S.C. 101) double patenting rejection can be overcome by canceling or amending the conflicting claims so they are no longer coextensive in scope. The filing of a terminal disclaimer cannot overcome a double patenting rejection based upon 35 U.S.C. 101.
Claims 1-6 are provisionally rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as claiming the same invention as that of claims 1-6 of the copending U.S. Patent Application No. 18/881,613. This is a provisional statutory double patenting rejection.
It is suggested that Applicants delete or amend the conflicting claims in the copending Application.
Telephone Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KAMAL A SAEED whose telephone number is (571) 272-0705.
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, Adam C Milligan can be reached at (571)270-7674. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Kamal A Saeed/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1626