Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/464,676

RESIN COMPOSITION AND MOLDED BODY

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Sep 11, 2023
Examiner
HESTER, HOLLEY GRACE
Art Unit
1766
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
66%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 3m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 66% — above average
66%
Career Allow Rate
33 granted / 50 resolved
+1.0% vs TC avg
Strong +44% interview lift
Without
With
+44.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 3m
Avg Prosecution
37 currently pending
Career history
87
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.6%
-39.4% vs TC avg
§103
51.5%
+11.5% vs TC avg
§102
19.4%
-20.6% vs TC avg
§112
22.2%
-17.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 50 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 Status Claims 1-7 are pending. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 /103 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis ( i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 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. 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, 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. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness . This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. Claim(s) 1-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a ) (1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Kazunori ( US 2004 / 0220302 A1 ; cited on IDS filed 09/11/2023 ) . Kazunori is directed towards a flame-retardant thermoplastic resin composition , which comprises [p. 0018-0023]: (A) 100 parts by weight of a polycarbonate-based resin, (B) 0.1 to 30 parts by weight of a polyorganosiloxane -containing graft copolymer , and (C) 0.0005 to 5 parts by weight of at least one metal salt selected from the group consisting of alkali metal salts and bivalent or further polyvalent metal salts . To prepare the polyorganosiloxane -containing graft copolymer (B) , Kazunori first reacts a styrene- butyl acrylate copolymer latex (St-Ba) and a polyorganosiloxane component to prepare polysiloxane particle-containing latex (S-2 ) [Reference example 2; p. 0176-180] . T he recovered polyorganosiloxane particle-containing latex (S-2) is composed of 98% by weight of the polyorganosiloxane component and 2% by weight of the St-B a copolymer component [Reference example 2; p. 0176-180]. To prepare the grafted chains of (B), Kazunori reacts the p olysiloxane latex particle (S- 2 ) with vinyl monomer (B- 3 ), consist ing of allyl methacrylate and butyl acrylate, followed by vinyl monomer (B-4), consist ing of methyl methacrylate and methyl acrylate [p. 0182-0183; Reference example 9 -12 ] . The prepared polyorganosiloxane -containing graft copolymer latex is then coagulated with aqueous calcium chloride, dehydrated, and dried, to recover calcium salt containing polyorganosiloxane -containing graft co polymers ( S G-6 to SG-9 ) in powder form ( component B ) . The proportion of the polyorganosiloxane relative to 100% mass of the graft copolymers is 73.5% for SG-6, and 84% for SG-7 to SG-9 [table 2]. Kazunori discloses that , w hen used in combination with the polyorganosiloxane -containing graft copolymer (B), the alkali metal salt (C) can synergistically enhance the flame retardancy [p. 0120] . To prepare a p olyorganosiloxane -containing graft copolymer (B) containing metal salt (C) , Kazunori dilutes the graft copolymers ( B ) in an aqueous solution of sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate ( component C) and dries the graft copolymers to powder form [p. 0191]. To prepare the final thermoplastic resin composition , Kazunori then blends , melt kneads, and extrudes the graft copolymer ( component B/C ) with a polycarbonate resin ( component A ) [p. 0192; table 3]. The extruded pellets are then molded into test specimens [p. 0192] . The resin compositions prepared by Kazunori exhibit similar combustion times to those of applicants and also do not drip during combustion [table 3 of Kazunori; table 3 of the instant specification ]. Kazunori is silent with respect to the X, Y, and Z values of instant claims 1 and 2. However, component A and component B of the composition of Kazunori appears to be capable of satisfying claimed expressions 1 and 2 when tested under the same conditions as : (1) Kazunori discloses the use of a polycarbonate as the thermoplastic resin having a viscosity average molecular weight of 15,000-25,000 Da [p. 0141], and applicants disclose the use of a polycarbonate having a viscosity average molecular weight of 24,000 Da [p. 0274 of PG-Pub , and (2) the polyorganosiloxane containing polymers of Kazunori comprise both calcium and sodium salt s and are prepared by method that is significantly similar to the method disclosed by applicants. Furthermore, the composition of Kazunori satisfies all of the material/chemical limitations of the claimed invention. At the very least the skilled artisan would have expected Kazunori to obviously embrace embodiments capable of satisfying the claimed property when cured because it satisfies all of the material/chemical limitations of the claimed invention. Lastly, the present specification discloses, specifically, that the treatment of the siloxane component with an alkali metal solution, allows one to achieve the claimed residual amounts and differences in temperature when treated at a high temperature, thereby satisfying the claimed formula. Regarding claim 6; Kazunori exemplifies the preparation of a polyorganosiloxane particle (S-1), which comprises 3% by mass gamma- methacryloxypropyldimethoxysilane [p. 00174-0175]. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT HOLLEY GRACE HESTER whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (703)756-5435 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday - Friday 9:00AM -5:00PM . 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 Randy Gulakowski can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT (571) 272-1302 . 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. /HOLLEY GRACE HESTER/ Examiner, Art Unit 1766 /RANDY P GULAKOWSKI/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1766
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 11, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 18, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12595335
POLYCARBONATE COPOLYMER AND METHOD FOR PREPARING THE SAME
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12583982
POLYESTER FILM, HEAT-SHRINKABLE LABEL AND PACKAGING COMPRISING SAME
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
Patent 12584013
POLYCARBONATE COMPOUND COMPOSITION AND METHOD FOR PREPARING THE SAME
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
Patent 12565562
SILANE TERMINATED POLYETHER EMULSIONS FOR COATING APPLICATIONS
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 03, 2026
Patent 12559595
CURABLE RESIN COMPOSITIONS
2y 5m to grant Granted Feb 24, 2026
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
99%
With Interview (+44.4%)
3y 3m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 50 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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