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 .
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-14 are pending. Claims 3-14 are withdrawn. Claims 1-2 are rejected.
Priority
This is a 35 U.S.C. 371 National Stage Filing of International Application No.
PNG
media_image1.png
24
202
media_image1.png
Greyscale
, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a-d) to
PNG
media_image2.png
23
173
media_image2.png
Greyscale
. Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d).
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statement (IDS’s) submitted on 2/29/2024 and 4/10/2025 were considered by the Examiner.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Group I (claims 1 and 2) in the reply filed on 2/4/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the art used in the restriction requirement of 12/5/2025 was not applicable. The prosecution of this application was transferred to Examiner Meghan Heasley on 3/15/2026. This is not found persuasive because there is applicable art to break unity, which is described in the 102 rejection below (US5304650).
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 3-14 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 2/4/2026.
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.
Claim(s) 1 and 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Krebs et al. (US5304650-disclosed on Applicant 2/29/2024 IDS).
Regarding instant claim 1, which is drawn to a mixture which may be 100% of formula (I):
PNG
media_image3.png
233
359
media_image3.png
Greyscale
, Krebs discloses an identical compound on the top of column 3:
PNG
media_image4.png
128
152
media_image4.png
Greyscale
. A mixture which is 100% by weight of a compound is simply just that compound. Additionally, regarding the instant limitation of “wherein the mixture has a Hazen color number of 0 to 15…” this would be inherent in a prior art reference of identical composition.
The limitation of instant claim 2 is not required because it depends from instant claim 1, wherein the mixture may be 100% of instant formula (I). Therefore, any additional components under these circumstances are not required limitations.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MEGHAN C HEASLEY whose telephone number is (571)270-0785. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30-4:30 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, Amy Clark can be reached at 571-272-1310. 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.
/MEGHAN C HEASLEY/Examiner, Art Unit 1626
Prosecution Insights