Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/454,094

METHOD FOR PRODUCING REVERSIBLE ADDITION-FRAGMENTATION CHAIN TRANSFER POLYMERIZATION POLYMER

Non-Final OA §103§DP
Filed
Aug 23, 2023
Examiner
HUHN, RICHARD A
Art Unit
1764
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Fujifilm Wako Pure Chemical Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
66%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 11m
To Grant
72%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 66% — above average
66%
Career Allow Rate
585 granted / 882 resolved
+1.3% vs TC avg
Moderate +6% lift
Without
With
+6.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
36 currently pending
Career history
918
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.5%
-39.5% vs TC avg
§103
37.2%
-2.8% vs TC avg
§102
22.3%
-17.7% vs TC avg
§112
25.3%
-14.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 882 resolved cases

Office Action

§103 §DP
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 U.S.C. § 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 of this title, 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. Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Controlled Radical Polymerization: Mechanisms (herein “Xu”) in view of Organic Process Research & Development, 2016, 20(10), 1792-1798 (herein “Clark”). As to claims 1-2: Xu describes photopolymerization of methyl methacrylate in the presence of a RAFT agent (see the procedure at the bottom of p. 251) including irradiating the reaction mixture with a blue LED light. Xu does not disclose the presently recited steps of using a rotating reactor. Clark describes a photoreactor (see the abstract and Figure 1) including a rotary evaporator inclined with respect to the vertical direction and LEDs that are used to irradiate the reaction flask. Clark discloses that the reactor works on the principle of creating a thin film by rotation of the reaction flask (see the top right of p. 1793), and Clark discloses that the reactor as advantages regarding productivity, temperature control, and decoupling of the residence time from the flow rate (see the paragraph bridging pp. 1793-1794). In light of Clark, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to perform Xu’s photopolymerization in Clark’s rotary evaporator for the advantages regarding productivity, temperature control, and decoupling of the residence time from the flow rate. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have performed Xu’s photopolymerization in Clark’s rotary evaporator, thereby arriving at the presently claimed methods. As to claim 3: Xu discloses a blue LED light having a λmax of 461 nm (see the bottom of p. 251). As to claim 4: The content of monomer and RAFT agent in Xu’s process is about 47% by mass of the reaction solution (see the amounts at the bottom of p. 251). As to claim 5: The RAFT agent in Xu’s process is a trithiocarbonate (see CDTPA at the bottom of p. 251 and at the top of p. 250). Double Patenting The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg , 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman , 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi , 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum , 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel , 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington , 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969). A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b). The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13. The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA/25, or PTO/AIA/26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer. Claims 1- 3 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1- 6 of copending application serial no. 18/454,09 3 . Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other . US ‘093 c laims a method of producing a RAFT polymer comprising polymerizing a monomer with a RAFT agent in the manner presently recited in claim 1 (see claim 5 of US ‘09 3 ). Claim 5 of US ‘093 reads on present claim 1 in an anticipatory manner. The further limitations of claims 2-3 are adequately set forth in claims 2-3 of US ‘093. This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented. Clai m s 4 -5 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1- 6 of copending application serial no. 18/454,09 3 in view of Xu . Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other As to claim 4: The discussion set forth above regarding US ‘093 with respect to base claim 1 is incorporated here by reference. As set forth above, US ‘093 suggests the method of present claim 1. US ‘093 does not claim the amount of monomer and RAFT agent in the mixed solution. Xu describes photopolymerization of methyl methacrylate in the presence of a RAFT agent (see the procedure at the bottom of p. 251) including irradiating the reaction mixture with a blue LED light. The content of monomer and RAFT agent in Xu’s process is about 47% by mass of the reaction solution (see the amounts at the bottom of p. 251). One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to perform the process claimed by US ‘093 using ordinary and known amounts of monomer and RAFT agent. In light of Xu, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been apprised of the use of monomer and RAFT agent in an amount of about 47% by mass of the reaction solution . It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have performed the process claimed by US ‘093 using the amounts of monomer and RAFT agent disclosed by Xu. As to claim 5 : The discussion set forth above regarding US ‘093 with respect to base claim 1 is incorporated here by reference. As set forth above, US ‘093 suggests the method of present claim 1. US ‘093 does not claim a trithiocarbonate RAFT agent. Xu describes photopolymerization of methyl methacrylate in the presence of a RAFT agent (see the procedure at the bottom of p. 251) including irradiating the reaction mixture with a blue LED light. Xu discloses a trithiocarbonate RAFT agent (see CDTPA at the bottom of p. 251 and at the top of p. 250). In light of US ‘093, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to perform the method claimed by US ‘093 using ordinary and known RAFT agents. In light of Xu, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been apprised of the use of a trithiocarbonate RAFT agent. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have performed the process claimed by US ‘093 using the trithiocarbonate RAFT agent CDTPA. This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT RICHARD A. HUHN whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-7345 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 6 PM EST . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Arrie (Lanee) Reuther can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT (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. /RICHARD A. HUHN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1764
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Aug 23, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 08, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103, §DP (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
66%
Grant Probability
72%
With Interview (+6.0%)
2y 11m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 882 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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