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 of Groups 1, Claims 1-5 in the reply filed on 04/30/2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Claims 6-10 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Groups 2-3, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 04/30/2026.
The restriction has been made FINAL.
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 1-2 and 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwon (KR 20170079730 A).
Regarding Claim 1-2, Kwon teaches an artificial leather (Paragraph 0001) comprising a base fabric layer (Paragraph 0010), a lower intermediate thermoplastic polyolefin layer, and an upper intermediate thermoplastic polyolefin layer disposed on the lower intermediate thermoplastic polyolefin layer (Paragraph 0016), a primer layer (adhesive layer), and a polyurethane surface layer attached to the upper intermediate thermoplastic polyolefin layer. (Paragraph 0009).
Kwon teaches the intermediate layers, such as the upper intermediate thermoplastic layer, can comprise maleic-anhydride modified ethylene or propylene polymers, modified thermoplastic polyolefin (Paragraph 0015).
Regarding Claim 4, Kwon teaches the upper surface of the intermediate layer, the modified thermoplastic polyolefin layer, can be corona treated, which increases the adhesiveness of the upper surface (Paragraph 0017). Thus, the modified thermoplastic polyolefin layer will be more adhesive than the non-corona treated thermoplastic polyolefin layer.
Regarding Claim 5, Kwon teaches the primer/adhesive layer is chlorinated polypropylene. (Paragraph 0020).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwon in view of Hanna et al. (US 2006/0084764 A1)
Regarding Claim 3, Kwon teaches the modified thermoplastic olefin layer can include maleic-grafted propylene. (Paragraph 0015). Kwon does not teach the specific maleic anhydride content range.
Hanna teaches a polypropylene grafted with maleic anhydride content of 5 to 45 wt%. (Abstract). This overlaps the claimed range. Hanna teaches this grafted polypropylene can be used in multilayer laminates (Paragraph 0032). Hanna teaches higher maleic anhydride content allows for better bonding to polar materials. (Paragraph 0003, 0007, 0027). Thus, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art to have the claimed maleic anhydride content in Kwon for better adhesion between the layers.
Correspondence
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL ZHANG whose telephone number is (571)270-0358. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday: 9:30am-3:30pm, 8:30PM-10:30PM.
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, Frank Vineis can be reached at (571) 270-1547. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Michael Zhang/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1781
Prosecution Insights