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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Group I, claims 1-13 in the reply filed on 6/09/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that applicant had broadened the process to no longer recite "drying a paint char material". This is not found persuasive because the now broadly recited process can still be narrowed. The amendment to the claims does not erase the fact that the composite can be made by materially different processes.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 14-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
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, 8 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Gordon (USPN 5,984,126), Bittner (US 2015/0013570) or Nakouzi et al. (A novel approach to paint sludge recycling: Reclaiming of paint sludge components as ceramic composites and their applications in reinforcement of metals and polymers, Journal of Materials Research, pps. 53-60, Vol. 13, 1998).
Each of Gordon (Col. 1, lines 36-50), Bittner (¶’s 5 and 10-13) and Nakouzi et al. (Abstract) teach a composite comprising a polymer and a paint char or pyrolyzed paint sludge/waste.
Regarding claim 8, the paint waste/sludge is by definition a mixture of paint, thus meeting the requirement for the claimed hybrid paint material.
Regarding claim 10, there is no distinction between automobile paint waste and paint waste; as mentioned above, paint waste is a mixture of paint waste.
Thus, the requirements for rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) are met.
Claim(s) 1-3 and 8-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zhao et al. (CN 103665902).
In the abstract and ¶’s 13 and 19 and claim 4, Zhao et al. teach composite material comprising 20-80 parts of thermoplastic resin, such as polypropylene, and 10-40 parts of a pyrolyzed waste paint residue.
Thus, the requirements for rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) are met.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 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, 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.
Claim(s) 4-7 and 11-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102((a)(1)/(a)(2)) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Zhao et al., Gordon, Bittner or NAKOUZI et al.
While Zhao et al., Gordon, Bittner or Nakouzi et al., above, do not expressly teach the disclosed properties of the claimed composite, it is reasonable that the composites of Zhao et al., Gordon, Bittner or Nakouzi et al. would possess the presently claimed properties since the compositions of Zhao et al., Gordon, Bittner or Nakouzi et al. are essentially the same as the claimed composition and the USPTO does not have at its disposal the tools or facilities deemed necessary to make physical determinations of the sort. In any event, an otherwise old composition is not patentable regardless of any new or unexpected properties. In re Fitzgerald et al , 619 F.2d 67, 205 USPQ 594 (CCPA 1980). See MPEP § 2112 - § 2112.02.
Even if assuming that the prior art references do not meet the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 102, it would still have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was made, to arrive at the same inventive composition because the disclosure of the inventive subject matter appears within the generic disclosure of the prior art.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KELECHI CHIDI EGWIM whose telephone number is (571)272-1099. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 9-7.
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, Robert Jones can be reached at (571) 270-7733. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KELECHI C EGWIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1762
KCE
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