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 § 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 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) 13-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kimura et al. (# JP 2014-024944 A).
Kimura et al. discloses:
13. An active energy ray-curable inkjet ink set ([0009]-[0011]; see Examples) comprising:
a first ink containing a colorant and a polymerizable monomer having a hydroxyl group (see Claim 1; see Abstract; [0009]-[0010]; [0013]-[0050]); and
a second ink containing a polymerizable monomer having an acid group ([0067]-[0075]).
14. The active energy ray-curable inkjet ink set according to claim 13, wherein a content of the polymerizable monomer having a hydroxyl group ([0013]-[0020]) is from 30% by mass to 70% by mass with respect to a total amount of the first ink (0.5 to 30%; [0035]).
15. The active energy ray-curable inkjet ink set according to claim 13, wherein a content of the polymerizable monomer having an acid group is from 5% by mass to 25% by mass with respect to a total amount of the second ink (1 to 50%; [0073]).
16. The active energy ray-curable inkjet ink set according to claim 13, wherein the second ink further contains a polymerizable monomer having a hydroxyl group (The second ink can have coloring, material, wetting agent, or other additive; [0074]).
17. The active energy ray-curable inkjet ink set according to claim 16, wherein a total content of the polymerizable monomer having an acid group and the polymerizable monomer having a hydroxyl group in the second ink is from 10% by mass to 50% by mass with respect to a total amount of the second ink (see Examples).
18. The active energy ray-curable inkjet ink set according to claim 16, wherein, in a case in which a mass of the first ink and a mass of the second ink are the same, a mass ratio of a content of the polymerizable monomer having a hydroxyl group in the first ink to a total content of the polymerizable monomer having an acid group and the polymerizable monomer having a hydroxyl group in the second ink is from 1 to 4.
Monomer (see Examples).
Kimura et al. explicitly did not discloses: An active energy ray-curable ink.
However, the phrase “An active energy ray-curable” is in preamble and preamble doesn’t limit the claimed invention. For the examining purpose, the examiner just considers as an inkjet ink set. Therefore, Kimura et al. reads on the present claim language.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/27/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant maintains “ Paragraphs [0013] to [0050] of Kimura describe the resin that is included in the first ink of Kimura. However, there is no teaching in those paragraphs that the first ink of Kimura contains a monomer. Although the term "monomer" can be found in paragraphs [0013] to [0050] of Kimura, the monomer is merely used as a starting material for the polymerization. It is the resin obtained as a result of the polymerization of the monomer that is included in the first ink of Kimura. Therefore, it appears that any monomers disclosed in Kimura's first ink are consumed when the resin is formed and thus individual monomers are not present in the first ink of Kimura.”
Examiner respectfully disagrees. Kimura clearly discloses in [0021] The resin emulsion that can be used in the ink of the present invention is preferably obtained by, for example, a method in which a monomer and a polymerization initiator are added drop wise and polymerized in the presence of an emulsifier, or an emulsification method in which a n aqueous solution or an aqueous suspension of a resin is stirred. Examples of the emulsifier include nonionic emulsifiers such as polyoxyethylene alkyl ethers, polyoxyethylene alkyl esters, and polyoxyethylene sorbitan alkyl esters; carboxylic acid type emulsifiers such as polyoxyethylene alkyl ether carboxylates, dialkylsulfosuccinates, and polycarboxylates such as water-soluble acrylic resins; sulfonic acid type emulsifiers such as alkylbenzenesulfonates; and anionic emulsifiers such as alcohol sulfates and alkylarylsulfonates; and [0028] discloses resin particles having a core / shell structure obtained by using a self-emulsifiable olefin polymer as the olefin resin and emulsion-polymerizing a radical polymerizable monomer other than an olefin in an aqueous dispersion of the self-emulsifiable olefin polymer can also be used as the water-dispersible olefin resin of the present invention. Which reads on present claim language.
Applicant has to incorporate “An active energy ray-curable inkjet ink” in body of the claim to overcome the current art rejection.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MANISH S SHAH whose telephone number is (571)272-2152. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00am-4:00pm.
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MANISH S. SHAH
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2853
/Manish S Shah/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853