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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of group I in the reply filed on 01/02/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that Best fails to suggest a seal layer comprising B, C and D of claim 1. This is not found persuasive because while Best does not disclose all the features of the present claimed invention, Best is used as teaching reference, and therefore, it is not necessary for this secondary reference to contain all the features of the presently claimed invention, In re Nievelt, 482 F.2d 965, 179 USPQ 224, 226 (CCPA 1973), In re Keller 624 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871, 881 (CCPA 1981).
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 16-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected groups, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 01/02/2026.
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) 1-4, 6-7 and 9-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gringoire et al. (US 2006/0029824) in view of Hamada et al. (US 2003/0191243).
Regarding claims 1 and 12, Gringoire discloses sealable packaging film, i.e. a sealable lidstock, (0002, 0005, 0015) comprising metal substrate (0014, 0021) and heat sealable coating film, i.e. sealing layer (abstract, 0014) wherein the sealing layer comprising 60 to 99 phr of ethylene acrylic acid copolymer, i.e. 60 to 99 wt% copolymer A comprising one or more polymerized olefin monomers and one or more polymerized ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid monomers, (0025-0026) and 0.1 to 2 phr of silica particle with particle size of 3 to 5 microns, i.e. 0.1 to 2 wt% of inorganic particles with mass median diameter of 3 to 5 microns, (0038).
Gringoire does not disclose copolymer B and its amount.
Hamada discloses acrylic polymer composition for packaging material (abstract, 0051) comprising 10 to 50 wt% of methacrylic copolymer (0024, 0045) comprising mixture of methyl methacrylate and butyl acrylate (0021-0023, 0026) to obtain improved dispersibility, transparency and mechanical strength (0008, 0020, 0045).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use copolymer of Hamada in the sealing layer of Gringoire to obtain improved dispersibility, transparency and mechanical strength. Given that the sealing layer of Gringoire in view of Hamada discloses the same composition and their amounts as claimed in present claim, it is clear that the sealing layer of Gringoire in view of Hamada would have the same properties such as peelable.
Regarding claims 2 and 6-7, Gringoire in view of Hamada discloses the lidstock of claim 1, wherein given that the particles have particle size of Gringoire in view of Hamada is 3 to 5 microns, it meets the presently claimed limitation.
Regarding claims 3 and 9, Gringoire in view of Hamada discloses the lidstock of claim 1, wherein copolymer A comprises 65 to 95 wt% of ethylene and 5 to 35 wt% of acrylic acid (0026) and copolymer B comprising polymerized acrylate C1-C8 ester monomer (Hamada: 0021).
Regarding claim 4, Gringoire in view of Hamada discloses the lidstock of claim 1, wherein given that present claim recites up to 30% by weight of carboxylic acid, it is considered 0.
Regarding claims 10-11, Gringoire in view of Hamada discloses the lidstock of claim 1, wherein Hamada discloses methacrylic copolymer comprising mixture of methyl methacrylate, butyl acrylate and methacrylic acid (0021-0023, 0026).
Regarding claims 13-15, Gringoire in view of Hamada discloses the lidstock of claim 1, wherein Gringoire discloses the thickness of the layer is depended on desired sealability and coefficient of friction (0040).
Since the instant specification is silent to unexpected results, the specific thickness of the film is not considered to confer patentability to the claims. As the sealability and coefficient of friction are variable that can be modified, among others, by adjusting the thickness of layer of Gringoire in view of Hamada the precise thickness amount would have been considered a result effective variable by one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made. As such, without showing unexpected results, the claimed thickness cannot be considered critical. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made would have optimized, by routine experimentation, the thickness of layer in the lidstock to obtain the desired sealability and coefficient of friction (In re Boesch, 617 F.2d. 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980)), since it has been held that where the general conditions of the claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. (In re Aller, 105 USPQ 223).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gringoire et al. (US 2006/0029824) in view of Hamada et al. (US 2003/0191243) and further in view of Eggers et al. (US 2002/0168512).
Regarding claim 5, Gringoire in view of Hamada discloses the lidstock of claim 1 but fails to teach talc.
Eggers discloses heat sealable layer comprising silica or talc in an amount of 0.1 to 2 wt% to obtain antiblocking properties (0025, 0037).
It would have obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use talc of Eggers in the sealing layer of Gringoire in view of Hamada to obtain antiblocking properties.
Claim(s) 1-4, 6-9 and 12-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Inoue et al. (US 2019/0143658) in view of Hamada et al. (US 2003/0191243) and Read (US 2015/0291825).
Regarding claims 1 and 12, Inoue discloses packaging container comprising metal foil layer D with sealing layer A, i.e. a sealable lidstock comprising a metal substrate and a sealing layer (fig. 1, 0032, 0056) wherein the sealing layer comprising 70 wt% or more of ethylene acrylic acid copolymer (0034-0035) and a filler (0037).
Inoue does not disclose copolymer B and inorganic particles C.
Hamada discloses acrylic polymer composition for packaging material (abstract, 0051) comprising 10 to 50 wt% of methacrylic copolymer (0024, 0045) comprising mixture of methyl methacrylate and butyl acrylate (0021-0023, 0026) to obtain improved dispersibility, transparency and mechanical strength (0008, 0020, 0045).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use copolymer of Hamada in the sealing layer of Gringoire to obtain improved dispersibility, transparency and mechanical strength.
Inoue in view of Hamada does not disclose inorganic particles C.
Read discloses film for packaging comprising 0.1 to 2 wt% of silica with particle size of 3 to 5 micron, i.e. 0.1 to 2 wt% of inorganic particles with mass median diameter of 3 to 5 microns, (0146) to obtain reduced tack at room temperature (0146).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use the silica of Best in the sealing layer of Inoue in view of Hamada to obtain reduced coefficient of friction and reduced tack at room temperature. Given that the sealing layer of Inoue in view of Hamada and Read discloses the same composition and their amounts as claimed in present claim, it is clear that the sealing layer of Inoue in view of Hamada and Read would have the same properties such as peelable.
Regarding claims 2 and 6-7, Inoue in view of Hamada and Read discloses the lidstock of claim 1, wherein given that the particle size of Inoue in view of Hamada and Read is 3 to 5 microns, it meets the presently claimed limitation.
Regarding claims 3 and 9, Inoue in view of Hamada and Read discloses the lidstock of claim 1, wherein copolymer A comprises 65 to 95 wt% of ethylene and 5 to 35 wt% of acrylic acid (0026) and copolymer B comprising polymerized acrylate C1-C8 ester monomer (Hamada: 0021).
Regarding claim 4, Inoue in view of Hamada and Read discloses the lidstock of claim 1, wherein given that present claim recites up to 30% by weight of carboxylic acid, it is considered 0.
Regarding claim 8, Inoue in view of Hamada and Read discloses the lidstock of claim 1, wherein the metal layer is aluminum foil with a thickness of 1 to 300 microns (0056).
Regarding claims 13-15, Inoue in view of Hamada and Read discloses lidstock of claim 1, wherein Inoue discloses the thickness of the sealing layer is 5 microns to 250 microns (0036).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Inoue et al. (US 2019/0143658) in view of Read (US 2015/0291825) and Hamada et al. (US 2003/0191243) and further in view of Eggers et al. (US 2002/02168512).
Regarding claim 5, Inoue in view of Read discloses the lidstock of claim 1 but fails to teach talc.
Eggers discloses heat sealable layer comprising silica or talc in an amount of 0.1 to 2 wt% to obtain antiblocking properties (0025, 0037).
It would have obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use talc of Eggers in the sealing layer of Inoue in view of Hamada and Read to obtain antiblocking properties.
Conclusion
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/SAMIR SHAH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1787