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 .
Claim Status
Claims 1-91 were filed 1/5/2024. In a preliminary amendment filed on 9/12/2024, claims 3-4, 6-7, 52, 55-56, 68-69, 72-73, 75, and 90-91 were amended and claims 5, 8-51, 57-67, 70-71, and 77-89 were canceled. Claims 1-4, 6-7, 52-56, 68-69, 72-76, and 90-91 are pending.
Priority
The instant application was filed on 1/5/2024 and claims benefit of priority to:
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See filing receipt dated 9/24/2024.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b)
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 applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-4, 6-7, 52-56, 68-69, 72-76, and 90-91 are 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.
A broad range or limitation together with a narrow range or limitation that falls within the broad range or limitation (in the same claim) may be considered indefinite if the resulting claim does not clearly set forth the metes and bounds of the patent protection desired. See MPEP § 2173.05(c).
In the present instance, with respect to variables R1, R1’, R2, R2’, R3, and R3’, claim 1 recites the broad recitation “alkyl or substituted alkyl”, and the claim also recites “alkyl (C≤6), or substituted alkyl (C≤6)” which is the narrower statement of the range/limitation. It is not clear if the range within the parentheses is required or preferred. If the range is required, the Examiner suggests removing the limitation from parentheses.
The same issue occurs throughout numerous variable definitions in claims 1-4, 6, 53-56, and 73-76 and is not cured by any of the dependent claims.
The claim(s) are considered indefinite because there is a question or doubt as to whether the feature introduced by such narrower language is (a) merely exemplary of the remainder of the claim, and therefore not required, or (b) a required feature of the claims.
Subject Matter Free from the Prior Art
Claims 1-4, 6-7, 52-56, 68-69, 72-76, and 90-91 appear to be free from the prior art. The closest prior art to the claimed invention include:
US 2007/0270592 (published on 11/22/2007);
Kunrath (“1,5-Diphenyl-4,-bis(3-phenylpyrazol-1-yl)pyrazabole” Acta Crystallographica Section C, 2005, p. 0521); and
Parasar (“Overcoming Fundamental Limitations in Adsorbent Design: Alkene Adsorption by Non-porous Copper (I) Complexes” Angew. Chem. 2020, p. 21187),
which are all of record in the IDS filed on 4/8/2025.
Document 1 discloses analogous compounds to that of formula (I) in claim 1:
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. See [0098]. This compound (2) lacks the boron atoms of the claimed compounds but teaches that M1-3 are Cu; Rx” are all H; and Rx and Rx’ are all CF3, a C1 alkyl fully substituted with fluorine. Example 2 in [0106] further reaches the reaction of the above compound (2) with a boron compound of formula (6) to produce compound (3):
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. Though compound (3) contains boron, it is not in the same bridging location as that of instant compound (IV) in claim 53. Nor does there appear to be motivation to modify the compounds of document 1 to arrive at the claimed compounds.
Document 2 discloses the following compound of formula (I):
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. See p. o521, second column. This compound is analogous to that of formula (IV) in claim 53, wherein the M bridging atom is replaced by a second B(R10)(R10’) group; one of R10 and R10’ is H and the other is substituted heteroaryl (not alkyl); R11 and R12 are phenyl (C6 aryl) and the other is H; and R11” and R12” are H. There does not appear to be any motivation to modify the compound of document 2 to arrive at the claimed compounds.
Document 3 teaches the following compounds of formula (2), which are used as adsorbents for ethylene (CHR=CH2, wherein R is H) and propylene (CHR=CH2, wherein R is CH3) to form compounds of formula (3):
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. See p. 21188. The compounds of formula (2) are analogous to the compounds of formula (I) in claim 1 and the compounds of formula (3) are analogous to the compounds of formula (IV) in claim 53, wherein the boron bridging groups are absent; M1-3 are Cu; Rx and Rx’ are CF3 (C1 alkyl fully substituted by fluorine); Rx” is H or Br; and R13 is ethylene or propylene. There does not appear to be any motivation to modify the compounds of document 3 to arrive at the claimed compounds.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AMY C BONAPARTE whose telephone number is (571)272-7307. The examiner can normally be reached 11-7.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Scarlett Goon can be reached at 571-270-5241. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/AMY C BONAPARTE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1692
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