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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Response to Election/Restrictions
1. Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1, 4, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 28, 34, 46, 51, 61, 66, 71, & 76, in the reply filed on 08/07/2026 is acknowledged.
2. Claims 77, 79-80, & 97 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention(s), there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 08/07/2026.
Status of Application
3. This application was filed on 11/29/2023.
Claims 1, 4, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 28, 34, 46, 51, 61, 66, 71, 76-77, 79-80, & 97 were originally presented in this application for examination.
Claims 2-3, 5-7, 9-10, 12-13, 15-16, 18-19, 21-27, 29-33, 35-45, 47-50, 52-60, 62-65, 67-70, 72-75, 81-96, & 98-103 were originally canceled in this application.
Claims 1, 4, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 28, 34, 46, 51, 61, 66, 71, 76-77, 79-80, & 97 are currently pending in this application for examination.
Specification
4. The examiner has not checked the specification to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors (grammatical, typographical, and idiomatic). Cooperation of the applicant(s) is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant(s) may become aware of in the specification, in the claims and in any further amendment(s) that applicant(s) may file.
Applicant(s) is also requested to complete the status of the copending applications referred to in the specification by their Attorney Docket Number or Application Serial Number, if any.
The status of the parent application(s) and/or any other application(s) cross-referenced to this application, if any, should be updated in a timely manner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102(a)(1)
5. 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) 1, 4, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 28, 34, 46, 51, & 61 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Takahashi (US 2021/0009436 A1).
Takahashi discloses a molybdenum oxychloride (MoO2Cl2) having a purity of 99.999 wt% or higher and a bulk density of 0.5 g/cm3 or more (see p. 7, claims 4, 6, & 7). See also entire reference for further details.
Takahashi teaches the claimed ultra-pure MoO2Cl2 as set forth above, but silent with respect to the claimed features, having less than about 30 ppm or protons, less than 15 ppm, less than 3 ppm, a residual total content of H2O of less than about 250 ppm, less than about 50 ppm, less than about 15 ppm, less than about 0.005 wt% in the physiosorbed or chemisorbed state as measured by 1H NMR, etc., respectively.
It is considered the claimed features are inherent characteristics of the disclosed molybdenum oxychloride (MoO2Cl2) because the product of the reference has a purity of 99.999 wt% or higher, which provides for a teaching of no impurities, moistures, or residuals contained in the product disclosed.
Claims 1, 4, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 28, 34, 46, 51, & 61 are unpatentable as being anticipated by Takahashi.
Allowable Subject Matter
6. Claims 66, 71, & 76 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.
Takahashi teaches the claimed molybdenum oxychloride (MoO2Cl2) having a purity of 99.999 wt% or higher and a bulk density of 0.5 g/cm3 or more (see p. 7, claims 4, 6, & 7). Example 1 at p. 7 of the reference shows a bulk density of 1.2 g/cm3. The bulk density of the disclosed product appears to be lower than the claimed bulk density (greater than 2.0 g/cm3, greater than 2.5 g/cm3, and greater than 3.0 g/cm3) as further defined in these claims.
There would be no motivation to combine the teachings of the prior art references together to arrive to the claimed invention.
Conclusion
7. Claims 1, 4, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 28, 34, 46, 51, 61, 66, 71, 76-77, 79-80, & 97 are pending. Claims 1, 4, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 28, 34, 46, 51, & 61 are rejected. Claims 66, 71, & 76 are objected. Claims 77, 79-80, & 97 are withdrawn. No claims are allowed.
Contacts
8. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Primary Examiner CAM N. NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-1357. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F (8:30 am – 5:00 pm) at alternative worksite or at cam.nguyen@uspto.gov.
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, Anthony Zimmer, can be reached at 571-270-3591. 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.
/Cam N. Nguyen/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1736
/CNN/
September 03, 2026
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