Detailed Office Action
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. 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 § 112
2. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
3. Claims 1-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Firstly, with respect to (c) of claim 1, applicants have claimed that the deswelling agent is mixed with said aqueous medium; however, as drafted, it is unclear if “said aqueous medium” refers to the aqueous medium resulting from (b) containing the pulverulent partially neutralized carboxylic acid containing polymer or copolymer or to the aqueous medium prior to addition of the polymer or copolymer. It is noted that paragraph [0057] of the specification discloses that the deswelling agent is added to the aqueous phase containing the polymer or copolymer; however, this is not clearly required by the claim language. In other words, as claimed, the sequence of addition of components to the aqueous medium is unclear; as drafted, it does not necessarily follow that (b) and (c) are sequential steps.
Secondly, with respect to claim 13, the language, “the at least one pulverulent partially neutralized carboxylic acid containing homopolymer or copolymer”, “the aqueous phase”, and “the composition”, lacks antecedence. Furthermore, it is unclear how to interpret “active polymer”, since the amount referenced within the claim is associated with the at least one pulverulent partially neutralized carboxylic acid containing homopolymer or copolymer.
Thirdly, with respect to claim 14, the language, “the at least one pulverulent crosslinked partially neutralized carboxyl group containing homopolymer or copolymer”, lacks antecedence.
Fourthly, with respect to claim 17, the language, “wherein the ratio of anionic surfactant to amphoteric surfactant (active material) is”, within lines 2 and 3 renders the claim indefinite, because the language is improper in view of the “wherein …” language within line 1, and it is unclear how to interpret “(active material)”. Furthermore, it is unclear how to interpret the language, “and 9:1, 8:1 …”, within line 3.
Fifthly, with respect to claim 19, the language, “said basic material”, lacks antecedence from claim 17. Furthermore, the language, “amount of yield”, within line 2 is improper and cannot be clearly understood.
Sixthly, with respect to claim 20, it is unclear how to interpret the language within parentheses. Also, the parenthesis before triethanolamine lacks an end parenthesis. It is unclear if the language in parentheses is intended to further limit/modify alkali metal or bases, if so then the language renders the claim indefinite, because it is unclear how or to what extent the language is further limiting of the broader language. Lastly, it is unclear how to interpret PEG-15; tradenames should not appear within the claims.
Allowable Subject Matter
4. Claims 1-21 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
5. The instant claims are deemed to be allowable over the prior art of record, the most relevant prior art being US 3915921 and WO 2013/096206 A1. The instant claims differ from US 3915921 in that the reference fails to disclose applicants’ claimed amount of carboxylic acid group containing monomer neutralization, and the instant claims differ from WO 2013/096206 A1 in that the reference fails to disclose applicants’ claimed mixing of a deswelling agent with the aqueous medium. Furthermore, the examiner does not consider that one would have been motivated to modify US 3915921 in view WO 2013/096206 A1 for the following reason. The prior art reference, US 2923692, cited by the examiner, discloses that carboxylic groups in analogous water dispersible polymeric systems are neutralized to a degree of 25%-85%; therefore, one seeking to promote water dispersibility would not have been motivated to neutralize the carboxylic groups of the reactants within US 3915921 to the limited extent disclosed by WO 2013/096206 A1 (paragraph [0039]) to arrive at the instant invention of claim 1.
Conclusion
6. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Rabon A Sergent whose telephone number is (571)272-1079. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM, ET.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Heidi Riviere Kelley, can be reached at telephone number 571-270-1831. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RABON A SERGENT/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1765