Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/549,020

DENTAL ADHESIVE COMPOSITION

Non-Final OA §103§112
Filed
Sep 05, 2023
Examiner
HUANG, CHENG YUAN
Art Unit
1787
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Tokuyama Dental Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
38%
Grant Probability
At Risk
1-2
OA Rounds
4y 3m
To Grant
63%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants only 38% of cases
38%
Career Allow Rate
247 granted / 648 resolved
-26.9% vs TC avg
Strong +25% interview lift
Without
With
+24.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
4y 3m
Avg Prosecution
37 currently pending
Career history
685
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§103
55.3%
+15.3% vs TC avg
§102
15.4%
-24.6% vs TC avg
§112
24.0%
-16.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 648 resolved cases

Office Action

§103 §112
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 § 112 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 appl icant regards as his invention. Claim s 9-14 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. Regarding claims 9-14 , the addition of the word “type” extends the scope of the claims so as to render them indefinite since it is unclear what “type” is intended to convey. The addition of the word “type” to the otherwise definite expression renders the definite expression indefinite by extending its scope. Ex parte Copenhaver, 109 USPQ 118 (Bd. App. 1955). 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. 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. Claim (s) 9-10 and 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kishi et al. (KR 20190039187) . Regarding claim 9, Kishi et al. teaches a two- component dental adhesive composition comprising a first component and a second component separately packaged (paragraph [0009]); wherein the first component comprises (A) the acid group-containing polymerizable monomer and (B) the sulfur atom-containing polymerizable monomer, and the second component comprises (C) the silane coupling agent, (D) the borate compound, and (E) water (paragraph [0009]) ; the mixing ratio of (A) the acidic group-containing polymerizable monomer to 100 parts by mass of the total polymerizable monomer is 5 parts by mass to 30 parts by mass (paragraph [0010]); and the remainder is a sulfur atom-containing polymerizable monomer (B) and/or another polymerizable monomer (G) which do not contain an acidic group (paragraphs [0088], [01030], [0144], and [0148]); (G) other polymerizable monomers may be added to both the first agent and the second agent (paragraph [0147]), 0.1 to 100 parts by mass of the coating reinforcing agen t such as silica particles may be added to both the agent and the second agent (paragraphs [0165] - [0167]) , 0.1 to 30 parts by mass of silane coupling agent may be used, including γ-methacryloxypropyl triisopropoxysilane may be used alone (paragraphs [0105] and [0112]), i.e. 100% of the silane coupling agen t, wherein methacryloxypropyl corresponds to the radically polymerizable group, and triisopropoxy corresponds to the branched alkoxy group , and in a case where the dental adhesive composition contains components other than the acidic group-containing polymerizable monomer, the acidic group-free polymerizable monomer, the silica filler, and the silane coupling material , the components are contained in the first agent and/or the second agent. Regarding claim 10 , Kishi et al. teaches further comprising water in the second agent (paragraph [012 4 ]). Given that Kishi et al. teaches water in an amount of 5 to 50 parts by mass per 100 polymerization reactive component (paragraph [01 25 ]) and silane coupling agent in an amount of 0.1 to 30 parts by mass per 100 total polymerizable monomer (paragraph [0113]), Regarding claim s 12 and 13 , Kishi et al. teaches two-paste type dental cement comprising the two- component dental adhesive composition (paragraphs [0133] and [0203]). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 11 and 14 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHENG HUANG whose telephone number is (571)270-7387 . The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday from 7 AM to 5 PM. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, th e examiner's supervisor, Callie Shosho, can be reached at 571-272-1123 . The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /CHENG YUAN HUANG/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1787
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 05, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 02, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103, §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12595355
STEREOLITHOGRAPHIC RESIN COMPOSITION AND THREE-DIMENSIONAL SHAPED OBJECT
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12576624
HEAT CONDUCTIVE SHEET AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING HEAT CONDUCTIVE SHEET
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Patent 12577441
PRESSURE-SENSITIVE ADHESIVE TAPE
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Patent 12558877
COMPOSITE PANE FOR A HEAD-UP DISPLAY
2y 5m to grant Granted Feb 24, 2026
Patent 12552140
A SEALING DEVICE WITH INCREASED CONCRETE ADHESION STRENGTH
2y 5m to grant Granted Feb 17, 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
38%
Grant Probability
63%
With Interview (+24.8%)
4y 3m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 648 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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