Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/368,119

WATER-SOLUBLE FILM, CHEMICAL AGENT PACKAGE USING THE WATER-SOLUBLE FILM, AND PRODUCTION METHODS FOR THE WATER-SOLUBLE FILM AND THE CHEMICAL AGENT PACKAGE

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Sep 14, 2023
Examiner
NERANGIS, VICKEY M
Art Unit
1763
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
56%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 1m
To Grant
85%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 56% of resolved cases
56%
Career Allow Rate
649 granted / 1152 resolved
-8.7% vs TC avg
Strong +28% interview lift
Without
With
+28.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 1m
Avg Prosecution
69 currently pending
Career history
1221
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.3%
-39.7% vs TC avg
§103
47.7%
+7.7% vs TC avg
§102
17.0%
-23.0% vs TC avg
§112
22.6%
-17.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1152 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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. 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 s 1-4 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Durmaz (Durmaz, et al., Polym. Int. 68 , 6 ( 2019 ) pp. 1140 -1145, cited on IDS dated 9/14/23) . With respect to claim 1, Durmaz discloses films comprising poly(vinyl alcohol) (PV A ) and casein blends, and exemplifies a composition CA5 comprising casein and PV A (nonionic) in a mass ratio of 43/57 and a plasticizer glycerol in an amount of 25 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass PV A (page 1141, “Materials” section and Table 1). Because PVA is water soluble as taught by Durmaz (page 1141, first column, lines 9-12), a film comprising 50 wt % PVA is inherently water soluble. With respect to claim 2, Durmaz does not disclose a casein salt, however, this claim further that limit s casein salt does not exclude the alternative embodiment of casein. Since the latter embodiment is disclosed by Durmaz as discussed above, it is proper to include claim 2 in this rejection.. With respect to claim 3, Durmaz performed thermogravimetric analysis on the films to determine that there was 3 mass % water evaporation upon heating, which clearly suggests a water content of 3 mass % (page 1143, first column, “Thermogravimetric analysis” paragraph). With respect to claim 4, Durmaz discloses that the films are used for packaging materials (page 1140, last paragraph before “EXPERIMENTAL”). Case law holds that a recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim. See In re Casey , 152 USPQ 235 (CCPA 1967) and In re Otto , 136 USPQ 458, 459 (CCPA 1963). While Durmaz does not disclose a package with “a chemical agent,” it is inherently capable of doing so because it teaches packaging materials. With respect to claim 7, Durmaz discloses that the exemplified materials are prepared by casting the film-forming composition in a liquid and subsequently drying and peeling the film from the substrate (page 1141, paragraph after “Preparation of plasticized CA/PVA films ” ). Claim 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(2) as being anticipated by Courchay (US 11,597,897) . With respect to claims 1, 2, Courchay discloses a water-soluble film comprising a water-soluble polymer and dose articles made therefrom, wherein the water-soluble polymer includes a blend of a caseinate polymer (casein salt) and a polyvinyl alcohol homopolymer (PVA) (abstract). Courchay teaches that the water-soluble film is prepared from a weighty ratio of caseinate polymer to PVA is 25:75 to 95:5 (col. 12, lines 21-24). Exemplified formulations include weight ratio of sodium caseinate to PVA of 40/60 and 20/80 (col. 11, Table 1). Courchay teaches that a plasticizer added in an amount of preferably 20-30 wt % of the film (col. 12, lines 40-42), which based on the example with caseinate to PVA ratio of 40/60, the amount of plasticizer per 100 parts by mass of PVA is about 42. With respect to claim 3, Courchay teaches that the moisture content is at least 4 wt %, preferably 5-10 wt % (col. 4, lines 4-9). With respect to claims 4-6 Courchay discloses a water-soluble dose article having a compartment (i.e., bag) comprising detergent (col. 6, lines 14-34), preferably a liquid detergent (col. 8, lines 20-26). With respect to claim 7, Courchay teaches that the film is prepared by mixing caseinate polymer and PVA and then preferably formed into a film by casting (col. 5, line 66 to col. 6, line 7), which inherently is cast on a cast surface, and subsequently dried (col. 11, lines 22-31). With respect to claim 8, Courchay teaches forming the dose article by sealing two water-soluble films together and then adding the detergent composition within the dose article (col. 8, lines 20-26). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT VICKEY NERANGIS whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-2701 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT 8:30 am - 5:00 pm EST, Monday - Friday . 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, Joseph Del Sole can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-11 30. 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. /Vickey Nerangis/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1763 vn
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 14, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 11, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
56%
Grant Probability
85%
With Interview (+28.5%)
3y 1m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1152 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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