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 without traverse of Group I, claims 1-3 and 8 in the reply filed on 03/23/2026 is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 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 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.
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) 1-3 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over “Electrical properties of La2Mo2O9/Al2O3 nanocomposites fabricated by microwave sintering method” to Zhang et al.
Regarding claim 1, Zhang et al. discloses high density nanocrystalline La2Mo2O9 ceramics with addition of alumina. See page2340, left column. Zhang et al. disclose sintered La2Mo2O9 comprising alumina of 1, 2.25, 4.5, 9, and 18 mol%. Table 2 discloses that the Al% is at 2.48% for sintered La2Mo2O9 comprising alumina of 18 mol%. See 2.1. Synthesis; Table 2. Thus, it is reasonable to expect that the 1 mole% alumina is read on the claimed more than 0% by mass and 0.5% or less by mass (2.48/18%)
Where the claimed and prior art products are identical or substantially identical in structure or composition, or are produced by identical or substantially identical processes, a prima facie case of either anticipation or obviousness has been established. In re Best, 562 F.2d 1252, 1255, 195 USPQ 430, 433 (CCPA 1977).
In the alterative, the reference differs from Applicant's recitations of claims by not disclosing identical ranges. However, the reference discloses "encompassing" ranges, and encompassing ranges have been held to establish prima facie obviousness (MPEP 2144.05).
Regarding claim 2, Zhang et al. discloses that all the raw materials (La(NO3)3·6H2O, (NH4)6Mo7O24·4H2O and Al(NO3)3·9H2O) were from Sinopharm Chemical Reagent Co. Ltd., and the purity are higher than 99.0% (AR). For La(NO3)3·6H2O, the major impurities include other rare earth (<0.1%), Ca (<0.02%), Fe (<0.001%), Pb (<0.001%), Cl (<0.001%), SO4 (<0.001%), etc. For (NH4)6Mo7O24·4H2O, the major impurities include SO4 (<0.02%), insoluble matters in water (<0.01%), Pb (<0.001%), Cl (<0.001%), SiO2 (<0.001%), etc. And for Al(NO3)3·9H2O, the major impurities include alkali and earth (<0.2%), insoluble matters in water (<0.01%), SO4 (<0.005%), Fe (<0.002%), Pb (<0.001%), Cl (<0.001%), etc. On all accounts, the impurities are difficult to be examined by experiments due to the too many types and too low concentration. See 2.1. Thus, the ceramic material is free of an element selected from the group consisting of Cd, Hg, Pb, Ra, and U.
Regarding claims 3 and 8, Zhang et al. discloses high density nanocrystalline La2Mo2O9 ceramics with addition of alumina. See page 2340, left column.
Conclusion
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/SHUANGYI ABU ALI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1731
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