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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1-10, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WO 2017/159839 A1 in which US 2019/0077751 A1 to Tokunaga is used as a US equivalent. (hereinafter Tokunaga).
Regarding claims 1-10, Tokunaga teaches an episulfide compound having the formula
PNG
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67
185
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Greyscale
, wherein p is 0-4 (para 35) used in a polymerizable composition with a polythiol (para 113) and used in an optical material (para 113-114), which meets the composition of claims 7-10. In example 6, the episulfide compound is obtained from a reaction liquid containing 92.1 area% 1,8-dichloro-2,7-dihydroxy-4,5-dithiaoctane (compound B) and 4.5 area% 1,9-dichloro-2,8-dihydroxy-4,5,6-trithianonane (compound C), (See Table 1, para 135-139), which under goes an epoxidation reaction with a base to form an epoxy, (para 137-139), and then a sulfurizing reaction to form episulfide compounds (para 139-141), wherein the final product is 97.7 wt% bis(2,3-epithiopropyl)disulfide, (para 141), which meets the claimed episulfide compound (B). The above product would also result in some bis(2,3-epithiopropyl)trisulfide, which meets the claimed episulfide compound (A), as shown by the above epoxidation and sulfurizing reaction of 1,9-dichloro-2,8-dihydroxy-4,5,6-trithianonane (i.e. precursor of bis(2,3-epithiopropyl)trisulfide), as shown by the Applicant’s method of making in Example 1.
Regarding the claimed content amounts, one skilled in the art would have a reasonable expectation for the above epoxidation and sulfurization reaction to the mixture of 92.1 are% 1,8-dichloro-2,7-dhydroxy-4,5-dithiaoctane and 4.5 are% 1,9-dichloro-2,8-dihydroxy-4,5,6-trithianonane of Tokunaga’1 to have the claimed content amounts in the episulfide composition of bis(2,3-epithiopropyl)disulfide (i.e. claimed compound B) and bis(2,3-epithiopropyl)trisulfide (i.e. claimed compound A) because Tokunaga teaches a substantially identical method as shown by the Applicant in Example 1 (See Example 1 of specification), such as an epoxidation reaction followed by a sulfurization reaction of a mixture of 1,8-dichloro-2,7-dhydroxy-4,5-dithiaoctane (i.e. the precursor of bis(2,3-epithiopropyl)disulfide) and 1,9-dichloro-2,8-dihydroxy-4,5,6-trithianonane (the precursor of bis(2,3-epithiopropyltrisulfide). See MPEP 2112.01. (Where the claimed and prior art products are identical or substantially identical in structure or composition, or are produced by identical or substantially identical processes, a prima facie case of either anticipation or obviousness has been established. In re Best, 562 F.2d 1252, 1255, 195 USPQ 430, 433 (CCPA 1977)).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HA S NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7395. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri, Flex schedule 7:30am-4:00pm.
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/HA S NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1766
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