DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are pending.
Claim(s) 1-3, 8-11, 13-14, 19-20 is/are rejected.
Claim(s) 4-6 is/are objected.
Claim(s) 7, 12, 15-18 is/are withdrawn from consideration.
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 .
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.
Response to Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I (claims 1-16, 19-20) in the reply filed on 02/10/2026 is acknowledged.
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species (a-1) and (a-2) and (b) in the reply filed on 02/10/2026 is acknowledged.
Claim(s) 7, 12, 15-18 is/are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention or species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 03/09/2026.
Claim Objections
Claim(s) 14 is/are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 14, the first occurrence of abbreviations (e.g., “PET”, “LDPE”, “PVOH”) in claims should be accompanied by the full term.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 (AIA )
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-2, 9, 11, 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over:
• STEWART (US 2011/0287067),
in view of SIGMA - Polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate,
and in view of PUBCHEM - Sorbitan mono-(9Z)-9-octadecenoate.
STEWART ‘067 discloses adhesive coacervate compositions, wherein the adhesive coacervate composition comprises:
• a complex coacervate derived from:
(a) at least one polycation component, wherein the polycation component can comprise:
• a cationic surfactant (corresponding to the recited “polyelectrolyte”) (e.g., quaternary ammonium salts, etc.);
• optionally a non-ionic surfactant (e.g., sorbitan fatty acid esters such as sorbitan oleate, etc.; polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid esters such as polyoxyethylene sorbitan oleate, etc.) (corresponding to the recited surfactant comprising a cis double bond and a hydrophilic tail”; corresponding to the recited “cis double bond is a non-terminal double bond”);
(b) at least one polyanion component, wherein the polyanion component can comprise:
• an anionic surfactant (corresponding to the recited “electrolyte soluble in the solvent”) (e.g., alkyl metal salts; alkyl sulfates; phosphates, etc.);
• optionally a non-ionic surfactant (e.g., sorbitan fatty acid esters such as sorbitan oleate, etc.; polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid esters such as polyoxyethylene sorbitan oleate, etc.) (alternatively corresponding to the recited surfactant comprising a cis double bond and a hydrophilic tail”; alternatively corresponding to the recited “cis double bond is a non-terminal double bond”);
• a solvent (e.g., water, etc.);
• additives (e.g., fillers containing one or more releasable bioactive agents or drugs, which allows the adhesive complex coacervate compositions to release the bioactive agents (corresponding to the recited “coacervate composition is configured to release the payload over time, wherein the payload comprises a drug, a fragrance, or a dye”), etc.).
The adhesive complex coacervate compositions can be formed by:
• providing a solution of polycation component (a), polyanion component (b), and solvent;
• forming an adhesive complex coacervate from the solution by allowing the oppositely charged polycations and polyanions (and associated surfactants) to associate into colloidal polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) (corresponding to the recited “solvating the complex in a solvent to form a coacervate composition”).
The resulting adhesive complex coacervate generally: (i) has a density greater than water; (ii) is immiscible in water; (iii) has a low interfacial tension and low viscosity which enables the adhesive complex coacervate to readily spread on wettable and/or hydrophilic surfaces. The adhesive complex coacervate compositions are useful for bonding two adherends together. (entire document, e.g., Figure 1, 5, 7, etc.; paragraph 0009, 0012, 0016-0017, 0031, 0034, 0043, 0047-0048, 0054, 0058-0059, 0061, 0080, 0125-0128, 0135-0137, 0140, 0149, 0153, 0163-0167, etc.)
SIGMA - Polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate provides evidence that polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate contains a cis double bond and a long-chain alkyl “tail” (corresponding to the recited “hydrophobic tail”).
PUBCHEM - Sorbitan mono-(9Z)-9-octadecenoate provides evidence that sorbitan monooleate contains a cis double bond and a long-chain alkyl “tail” (corresponding to the recited “hydrophobic tail”).
Regarding claims 1-2, 9, 11, 19-20, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form adhesive complex coacervate compositions containing a complex comprising one or more polyelectrolytes and one or more known unsaturated fatty acid-based (e.g., oleic acid-based, etc.) surfactants in accordance with STEWART ‘067 in order to produce adhesive materials useful for bonding materials.
Claim(s) 10, 13-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over:
• STEWART (US 2011/0287067),
as applied to claims 1-2, 9, 11, 19-20 above,
and further in view of PERRY ET AL (US 2025/0026875),
and further in view of AKAO (US 4,978,572).
PERRY ET AL ‘875 discloses that it is well known in the art to utilize liquid complex coacervate compositions as laminating adhesives, wherein the adhesive complex coacervate compositions can be used to form a film or coating on a substrate (e.g., plastics, etc.) or other articles (e.g., films, etc.). (paragraph 0003, 0005-0009, 0029-0033, 0059-0060, 0063, 0073, 0099, etc.)
AKAO ‘572 discloses that it is well known in the art to utilize laminating adhesives (e.g., water-based, etc.) to bond two thermoplastic films (e.g., low density polyethylene (LDPE); ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA); etc.) together to form multilayer packaging materials. (Figure 3, etc.; line 14-17, col. 1; line 41-48, col. 4; line 22-31, col. 5; line 33-65, col. 8; line 23-33, col. 10; etc.)
Regarding claims 10, 13-14, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the adhesive complex coacervate compositions of STEWART ‘067 in known adhesive applications -- e.g., as a laminating adhesive which can be coated on plastic film substrates (as suggested in PERRY ET AL ‘875), wherein the laminating adhesive are useful as an adhesive layer (corresponding to the recited “tie layer”) for producing multilayer packaging material (as suggested in AKAO ‘572).
Regarding claim 10, one of ordinary skill in the art would have selected the composition of the adhesive complex coacervate compositions of STEWART ‘067 to facilitate the formation of uniform and/or homogeneous adhesive layers on plastic films in order to form multilayer laminates with defect-free adhesive layers which provide excellent interlayer adhesion.
* * *
Claim(s) 1-3, 8, 11, 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over:
• “One-Step Encapsulation of Capsaicin into Chitosan–Oleic Acid Complex Particles: Evaluation of Encapsulation Ability and Stability” (hereinafter “ONE-STOP ENCAPSULATION OF CAPSAICIN”).
ONE-STOP ENCAPSULATION OF CAPSAICIN discloses a dispersion of polyelectrolyte complex particles (corresponding to the recited “coacervate composition” in water and ethanol (corresponding to the recited “solvent” and the recited “solvating the complex in a solvent to form a coacervate composition”), wherein the polyelectrolyte complex particles are formed from chitosan (corresponding to the recited “polyelectrolyte”) and oleic acid (corresponding to the recited “surfactant comprises a cis double bond and a hydrophobic tail” and the recited “cis double bond is a non-terminal double bond”), and wherein the polyelectrolyte complex particles (corresponding to the recited “coacervate composition”) further contains capsaicin which can be subsequently released at a designated time and/or under designated conditions (corresponding to the recited “coacervate composition is configured to release the payload over time, wherein the payload comprises a drug, a fragrance, or a dye”).
(entire document, page 1-2, etc.) However, the reference does not specifically disclose a complex which is “moldable, adhesive, viscoelastic, or a viscous liquid having a viscosity that exceeds a viscosity of the solvent”.
Regarding claims 1-3, 8, 11, 19-20, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form a dispersion of polyelectrolyte complex particles (corresponding to the recited “coacervate composition”) in water and ethanol (corresponding to the recited “solvent”), wherein the polyelectrolyte complex particles are formed from chitosan (corresponding to the recited “polyelectrolyte”) and oleic acid (corresponding to the recited “surfactant comprises a cis double bond and a hydrophobic tail” and the recited “cis double bond is a non-terminal double bond”) as disclosed in ONE-STOP ENCAPSULATION OF CAPSAICIN in order to provide a convenient delivery form for capsaicin.
Further regarding claims 1, 19, one of ordinary skill in the art would have used known techniques (e.g., selecting the molecular weight of individual components, utilizing thickening additives, etc.) to adjust (e.g., increase) the viscosity of the dispersion of polyelectrolyte complex particles (corresponding to the recited “coacervate composition”) disclosed in ONE-STOP ENCAPSULATION OF CAPSAICIN relative to the dispersing solvent in order to facilitate usage in specific applications and/or additional processing (e.g., physical separation or isolation of the polyelectrolyte complex particles for subsequent use in other products, etc.).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 4-6 is/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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The prior art of record fails to disclose or suggest a coacervate composition comprising a polyelectrolyte / surfactant complex, wherein: (1) the surfactant contains a cis double bond and a hydrophobic tail; and (ii) the polyelectrolyte is polyallylamine (PAH); (claims 4-6).
STEWART (US 2011/0287076) fail to specifically disclose or suggest coacervate compositions formed using polyallylamine.
LIPITSKY ET AL (US 2015/0074516) fail to specifically disclose or suggest coacervate compositions formed using the recited surfactant contains a cis double bond and a hydrophobic tail.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
MENG ET AL (US 2018/0100259) and CEDANO SERRANO (US 2025/0388788) disclose complex coacervate compositions.
STEWART (US 2014/0220082) and VAIL (US 2013/0273145) and LAPITSKY ET AL (US 2016/0074516) and LAPITSKY ET AL (US 2018/0055942) and STEWART (US 2012/0177918) and STEWART (US 2016/0074556) and STEWART (US 2016/0240375) and STEWART (US 2017/0157285) and STEWART (US 2018/0099070) and STEWART (US 2018/0147316) and STEWART (US 2018/0256776) and STEWART ET AL (US 2018/0272027) and STEWART (US 2019/0321510) and STEWART (US 2020/0324017) and VAIL (US 2015/0038400) and VAIL (US 2015/0119353) and VAIL (US 2016/0108144) and CHA ET AL (US 2012/0201748) and KAMPERMAN ET AL (US 2021/0008244) and WO 2018/065450 and WANG ET AL (US 2023/0349103) discloses coacervate compositions.
“The Polyelectrolyte Complex/Coacervate Continuum” and “Influence of “Hydrophobicity” on the Composition and Dynamics of Polyelectrolyte Complex Coacervates” and “Coacervation with surfactants: From single-chain surfactants to gemini surfactants” and “An Overview of Coacervates: The Special Disperse State of Amphiphilic and Polymeric Materials in Solution” disclose coacervate compositions
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Vivian Chen (Vivian.chen@uspto.gov) whose telephone number is (571) 272-1506. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Thursday from 8:30 AM to 6 PM. The examiner can also be reached on alternate Fridays.
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May 2, 2026
/VIVIAN CHEN/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1787
Prosecution Insights