Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 15, 2026
Application No. 18/627,073

BLENDS OF POST CONUMER RESINS AND POLYETHYLENE FOR QUALITY BLOWN FILM

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Apr 04, 2024
Priority
Apr 05, 2023 — provisional 63/457,282
Examiner
LEE, RIP A
Art Unit
1787
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Equistar Chemicals L.P.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
84%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3m
Est. Remaining
79%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 84% — above average
84%
Career Allowance Rate
1144 granted / 1370 resolved
+18.5% vs TC avg
Minimal -4% lift
Without
With
+-4.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 7m
Avg Prosecution
26 currently pending
Career history
1394
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.6%
-39.4% vs TC avg
§103
33.5%
-6.5% vs TC avg
§102
25.6%
-14.4% vs TC avg
§112
24.9%
-15.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1370 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
DETAILED ACTION Election/Restrictions Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-10 in the reply filed on April 14, 2026 is acknowledged. Claim Objections Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: In line 3, please replace “25 wt. %” and “99 wt. %” with “25 wt %” and “99 wt %”. Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: In line 5, please replace “1 wt. %” and “75 wt. %” with “1 wt %” and “75 wt %”. Claim 8 is objected to because of the following informalities: In line 2, please replace “10 wt. %” and “50 wt. %” with “10 wt %” and “50 wt %”. Claim 8 is objected to because of the following informalities: In line 4, please replace “50 wt. %” and “90 wt. %” with “50 wt %” and “90 wt %”. Claim 9 is objected to because of the following informalities: In line 2, please replace “20 wt. %” and “30 wt. %” with “20 wt %” and “30 wt %”. Claim 10 is objected to because of the following informalities: In line 2, please replace “70 wt. %” and “80 wt. %” with “70 wt %” and “80 wt %”. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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. (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 1-4 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by (Gilles EP 4119346). Gilles teaches a film comprising a PCR-PE core layer disposed between two mLLDPE outer layers. The weight percentages may be estimated by layer thickness such that the composition comprises about 77 wt % of mLLDPE and about 35 wt % of PCR-PE. The mLLDPE is an ethylene-hexene copolymer having a density of 0.914 g/cm3 and melt index of 0.8 g/10 min. Claims 1, 2, 6, and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Modeé (WO 2021/089806). Table 1 of Modeé discloses a film with a core layer comprising 32 wt % of PCR-PE and 50 wt % of LLDPE having a melt index of 1 g/10 min and density of 0.910 g/cm3. Claims 1-4, 6, and 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Carbonell et al. (WO 2021/089806). Table 1 of Carbonell et al. discloses a filament made from a composition comprising 20 wt % of PCR-PE and 71 wt % of hexene-based LLDPE having a melt index of 2.3 g/10 min and density of 0.918 g/cm3. The PCR-PE contains from 30-99 wt % of LLDPE and 1-70 wt % of LDPE (claim 1). Claims 5 and 7 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. None of cited references teaches claims composition comprising virgin LLDPE having a dart drop impact strength F50 in a range from about 600 g to about 700 g and a tensile strength at break MD in a range from about 60 MPa to about 70 MPa. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Rip A. Lee whose telephone number is (571)272-1104. The examiner can be reached on Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Robert Jones, can be reached at (571)270-7733. 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. /RIP A LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1762 July 8, 2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Apr 04, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 13, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
84%
Grant Probability
79%
With Interview (-4.3%)
2y 7m (~3m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1370 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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