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/Restriction
Inventor’s election, without traverse, of the claims of Group I (claims 1-23 and 27-32), and a coating composition comprising ethanol as the solvent and NIPMAN and EHA as the monomer residues of the copolymer, as the Group and species, respectively, elected to begin prosecution is acknowledged. The election/restriction is hereby made FINAL.
Information Disclosure Statement
The lined-through reference is of improper format, as well as having no associated date. (See MPEP 707.05(e)(IV) for examples of proper citation format for electronic documents.)
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claim 2 is 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.
The meaning of the letter n in the terms “…n-methyl acrylamide, n-ethylacrylamide, [etc.]…” is unclear. The examiner respectfully suggests that the proper terms are: N-methyl acrylamide, N-ethyl acrylamide, etc. Note that while an applicant may be his own lexicographer, applicant may not distort art-recognized terms. Note MPEP 2173.05(a)(III).
Clarification is in order.
Markush Search
All claims have been examined with respect to formal matters.
The elected composition has been searched and is deemed free of the prior art. The search was therefore expanded as called for under Markush examination practice to include a single additional combination. That combination is: acrylamide (instant Group (a)), methacrylamide (instant Group (a)) and methyl acrylate (a C1 alkyl acrylate of instant Group (b)).
All claimed but as yet unexamined subject matter which does not read on the above combination is hereby withdrawn from consideration, for purposes of this Office Action, as being drawn to non-elected subject matter. This subject matter will be rejoined, as appropriate, as the Markush examination progresses.
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 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.
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 1, 5, 14, 23, 27 and 30, in so far as they read on the combination above, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being clearly anticipated by GB 831,881.
The reference teaches (page 4, line 40, EXAMPLE 1) the synthesis of a water soluble copolymer from methacrylamide (50 parts), acrylamide (10 parts), methyl acrylate (40 parts), and water (400 parts). (Potassium persulphate (0.5 parts) and formaldehyde sulphoxylate (0.1 parts) are stirred in.) The resulting methacrylamide-acrylamide-methyl acrylate copolymer solution may be diluted with water to any desired extent. The solution, upon drying, leaves a clear, hard film. Example 8 (page 5, line 21) of the reference teaches the addition of olive oil to a similar methacrylamide-acrylamide-methyl acrylate copolymer solution.
Claim 27 is included in the rejection because its limitations (a kit comprising the coating composition and an applicator) are intrinsic to the cited art. That is, since the cited teaches the preparation of the methacrylamide-acrylamide-methyl acrylate copolymer solution and its utilization as a protective coating (a clear, hard film) on surfaces, the copolymer solution and some type of applicator, together (i.e. “a kit”), is intrinsic to the prior art teaching.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRIAN J DAVIS whose telephone number is (571)272-0638. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5:00 PM EDT.
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, Ali Soroush, can be reached at 571-272-9925. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRIAN J DAVIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1614 6/16/2026
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