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 29 and 30 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. Claim 29’s “ preferably 2-25” is never proper claim language. Claim 30’s “-OH replaced with an isocyanate group” is likely not intended as applicant depicts the -OH was replaced by more than merely the isocyanate group (ie -NCO). See the -OC(O)NH-Ph(-CH 3 )-N CO at page 4 of the specification. 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. Claim s 20,21,24, 26, 3 3-35 and 39 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Gumbs 2009/0099309 . Gumbs (abstract) reacts guayule resin with unsaturated monomers. Guayule resin is a mix of compounds including Argentatin A, Argentatin B and Argentatin C (table 3). Gumbs (paragraph 28) reacts this guayule mix of compounds with hydroxyethylacrylate (to place -OH groups on the resin composition’s components), followed by reaction with a diisocyanate. Gumbs also recognizes (paragraph 28) that some of the compounds in the resin mix themselves already have -OH groups available for reaction with the diisocyanate. Argentatin A, Argentatin B and Argentatin C inherently have such -OH groups (see applicant’s paragraph 19 of spec). Gumbs’ reaction with diisocyanate (either with or without prior reaction with hydroxyethylacrylate) at least in part reacts the Argentatins with diisocyanate which meets applicant’s claim. In regards to applicant’s dependent claims: Gu mbs does not report the Tg of such a guayule resin/diisocyanate reaction product. However, if guayule resin/diisocyanate reaction products result in 1-100 0 C Tg’s for applicant, it would seem unavoidable the same Tg results for Gumbs. Applicant provides no details for controlling the Tg other than merely causing said reaction. For this reason, it is assumed that Gumbs suggested guayule resin/diisocyanate reaction products also has such a Tg – meeting applicant’s claim 26. The amount of Argentatins can be as high as 24% (N575 of table 3) which is higher than any other component – meeting applicant’s claim 33 and 35. 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 20,21,24,26 -28 , 31, 33-35 , 37 and 39 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gumbs 2009/0099309 . Gumbs (abstract) reacts guayule resin with unsaturated monomers. Guayule resin is a mix of compounds including Argentatin A, Argentatin B and Argentatin C (table 3). Gumbs (paragraph 28) reacts this guayule mix of compounds with hydroxyethylacrylate (to place -OH groups on the resin composition’s components), followed by reaction with a diisocyanate. Gumbs also recognizes (paragraph 28) that some of the compounds in the resin mix themselves already have -OH groups available for reaction with the diisocyanate. Argentatin A, Argentatin B and Argentatin C inherently have such -OH groups (see applicant’s paragraph 19 of spec). Gumbs’ reaction with diisocyanate (either with or without prior reaction with hydroxyethylacrylate) at least in part reacts the Argentatins with diisocyanate. Although no example is present which meets applicant’s claim, Gumbs nonetheless suggests such a reaction rendering obvious applicant’s claims. In regards to applicant’s dependent claims: Gumbs does not report the Tg of such a guayule resin/diisocyanate reaction product. However, if guayule resin/diisocyanate reaction products result in 1-100 0 C Tg’s for applicant, it would seem unavoidable the same Tg results for Gumbs. Applicant provides no details for controlling the Tg other than merely causing said reaction. For this reason, it is assumed that Gumbs suggested guayule resin/diisocyanate reaction products also has such a Tg – meeting applicant’s claim 26. The Argentatins have two -OH groups available for reaction with the diisocyanate. It would appear unavoidable that some oligomerization would occur when reacting the guayule resin (containing Argentatins) with diisocyanates as Gumbs teaches no technique that would stop the reaction after one molecule of Argentatin reacts with one molecule of diisocyanate. A reaction of: HO-argentatin-OH + OCN-R-NCO + HO-argentatin-OH + OCN-R-NCO ↓ HO-[argentatin-OC(O)NH-R] 2 -NCO meeting applicant’s claim 28. Given Argentatins have molecular weights of ~470g/mol and the diisocyanate at a minimum has a molecular weight of ~100g/mol, the simplest oligomer of two repeat units has a Mn>1,000 – meeting applicant’s claim 27. Gumbs (paragraph 28) places the isocyanate groups on the guayule resin in order to improve adhesion to certain substrates. Gumbs does not indicate what fraction of the Argentatins’ -OH groups are to be reacted with the diisocyan a te. It would have been obvious to react as many -OH groups as needed achieve the sufficient adhesion desired – meeting applicant’s claim 37. The amount of Argentatins can be as high as 24% (N575 of table 3) which is higher than any other component – meeting applicant’s claim 33 and 35. Claim s 22,23 and 25 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gumbs 2009/0099309 in view of Bayer’s The Chemistry of Polyurethane Coatings . Grumbs applies as explained above. Grumbs calls for diisocyanates, but does not name particular species thereof. Aromatic diisocyanates such as TDI and MDI as well as aliphatic diisocyanates such as IPDI and biurets of the diisocyanate HDI (ie a triisocyanate) are all well known isocyanates for urethane forming reactions (see pages 4-7) of the Bayer brochure . It would have been obvious to employ commercially common polyisocyanates in Gumbs reaction. Clai m 38 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gumbs 2009/0099309 in view of the Xu article . Grumbs applies as explained above. Grumbs does not provide a reaction temperature for reacting the Argentatins’ -OH groups with the diisocyanate The reaction of hydroxyl groups with isocyanate groups are known to proceed generally in the range of 10-65 0 C (see Xu page 3954,3955). It would have been obvious carry out Grumbs reaction at any temperature known for -OH/-NCO reactions. Claims 31, 32 and 36 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. Gumbs does not suggest removing low molecular weight rubber from the guayule resin prior to reaction with the diisocyanate. Guayule resin normally has more than 10% of this low molecular weight rubber (see section 2.6 of the Dehghanizadeh article) which excluded by applicant’s claim 31. Gumbs does not suggest further refining/concentrating the starting guayule resin such that the starting guayule resin is made up of a majority of Argentatins as in claim 36. Gumbs does not suggest further refining/concentrating the starting guayule resin or refining/concentrating the final reaction product such that the modified guayule resin is made up of a majority of Argentatins as in claim 32. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT DAVID J BUTTNER whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-1084 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT M-F 9-3pm . 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 Heidi Kelley can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-270-1831 . 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. /DAVID J BUTTNER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1765 3/1 7 /26