CTNF 18/682,896 CTNF 81033 Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 08-25-01 AIA Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-8 in the reply filed on 05/13/2026 is acknowledged. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia 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. 07-23-aia AIA The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 1-2, 4-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rupich (US 2006/051600) in view of Sathyamurthy (US 2011/0245083) . Rupich teaches a raw material solution used in manufacture of an oxide superconducting material (abstract) wherein the raw material comprises rare earth, barium, copper acetates as solutes (para. 0047-0049), water, alcohols, and pyridine (basic solvent) (combination of solvents disclosed meets limitation of having water, two alcohols, and pyridine in combination; para. 0012). Rupich fails to teach that the solvents include carboxylic acid. Sathyamurthy, however, teaches precursor solution for YBCO (abstract, para. 0002) wherein the precursor solution includes acetic acid (para. 0030-0032). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide the precursor solution of Rupich includes acetic acid in order to provide an additional solvent known in the YBCO precursor solution art as taught by Sathyamurthy. Regarding claim 2, Rupich teaches that the rare earth carboxylate is acetate (para. 0047). Regarding claim 4, Rupich teaches that the alcohol is methanol (one carbon) and butanol (four carbons) (para. 0012). Regarding claim 5, it would have been obvious to select the mixture of alcohols in equal proportion in Rupich as a starting combination absent a showing of unexpected results. Regarding claim 6, Sathyamurthy teaches that the carboxylic acid is acetic acid (para. 0031). Regarding claim 7, Rupich teaches that the basic solvent is pyridine (includes nitrogen; para. 0012). Regarding claim 8, Rupich in view of Sathyamurthy teaches that the solvent includes water, two alcohols, acetic acid, and pyridine as described above. Additionally, Sathyamurthy that the solvents are chosen to achieve the desired viscosity of the precursor solution (para. 0035) and that the water content is less than 10 volume percent which is described as (para. 0032). It would have been obvious to select the amounts of the different solvent constituents to achieve the desired properties of the precursor solution (eg. viscosity) through routine experimentation in the absence of unexpected results such that the resulting amounts of the solvent are close to/overlap with the claimed range. In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists. Similarly, a prima facie case of obviousness exists where the claimed ranges or amounts do not overlap with the prior art but are merely close. MPEP 2144.05 (I) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rupich (US 2006/051600) in view of Sathyamurthy (US 2011/0245083) and Rupich2 (US 2005/0217568) . Rupich teaches a product as described above in claim 1, but fails to teach that the carboxylate is a dicarboxylate with 2-4 carbon atoms. Rupich2, however, teaches a precursor solution for YBCO superconductor (abstract, para. 0104) wherein the rare earth oxalate is part of the precursor solution (para. 0104). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide rare earth oxalate part of the precursor solution in Rupich in order to provide a configuration known in the art as taught by Rupich2. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAUL A WARTALOWICZ whose telephone number is (571)272-5957. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9 am - 5 pm. 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, Keith Walker can be reached at 571-272-3458. 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. /PAUL A WARTALOWICZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1735 Application/Control Number: 18/682,896 Page 2 Art Unit: 1735 Application/Control Number: 18/682,896 Page 3 Art Unit: 1735 Application/Control Number: 18/682,896 Page 4 Art Unit: 1735 Application/Control Number: 18/682,896 Page 5 Art Unit: 1735
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