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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on 06/15/2026 is entered and acknowledged by the Examiner. Claims 1-3 have been amended. New claims 15-16 have been added. Claims 1-16 are currently pending in the instant application.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II, drawn to claims 3-12 (and new claims 15-16), in the reply filed on 06/15/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-2 and 13-14 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 06/15/2026.
Priority
This application is a 371 of PCT/JP2022/021491 (filed on 05/26/2022). Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Japan on 05/31/2021.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) filed on 11/27/2023 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and has been considered by the examiner. An initialed copy accompanies this Office Action.
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.
Claims 3-12 and 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2016/0225531 A1 (hereinafter Sugihara).
Sugihara discloses a monomer liquid for conductive polymer production and a production of an electrolyte capacitor by using the monomer liquid (See Abstract and [0030]). Sugihara discloses that the monomer liquid comprises a monomer for producing the conductive polymer including thiophene, pyrrole, aniline or their derivative (See [0046] to [0053]). The monomer of Sugihara meets the claimed monomer for producing the conductive polymer. Sugihara discloses that the monomer liquid comprises a dopant consisting of a naphthalene sulfonic acid type heterocyclic compound and a benzene sulfonic acid type heterocyclic compound (See [0030]) where the naphthalene sulfonic acid type heterocyclic is preferably am imidazole compound (See [0030], [0032] and [0033]; Example 2-methylimidazole). Applicant described the dopant consisting of a compound having heterocycle having 1 to 3 nitrogen atoms in a ring including2-methylimidazole (See [0031] of the present Specification). Therefore, the dopant of Sugihara meets the claimed dopant. Sugihara further discloses that the monomer liquid comprises an alcohol including methanol, ethanol, propanol and butanol (See [0057]). The alcohol of Sugihara meets the claimed lower alcohol solvent.
The reference specifically or inherently meets each of the claimed limitations in their broadest interpretations. The reference is anticipatory.
In view of the foregoing, the above claims have failed to patentably distinguish over the applied art.
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 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KHANH TUAN NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-8082. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Angela Brown-Pettigrew can be reached at (571) 272-2817. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KHANH T NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1761
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