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
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 and 5-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by van Walsem et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2012/0315681). Regarding Claim 1, van Walsem et al., hereafter “van Walsem,” show that it is known to carry out a method for producing acrylic acid and/or glycolide comprising thermally decomposing a hydroxyalkanoate copolymer in the presence of a catalyst containing tin (0003, 0006, 0014-0016).
Regarding Claim 5, van Walsem shows the process of claim 1 above, including one wherein the thermal decomposition is performed under a solvent-free condition (0141).
Regarding Claim 6, van Walsem shows the process of claim 1 above, including one wherein: the hydroxyalkanoate copolymer comprises 3-hydroxypropionic acid-derived repeating units and glycolide-derived repeating units (0006).
Regarding Claim 7, van Walsem shows the process of claim 1 above, including one wherein: the hydroxyalkanoate copolymer is a 3-hydroxypropionate-lactide copolymer (0047).
Regarding Claim 8, van Walsem shows the process of claim 7 above, including one wherein: the thermal decomposition thermally decomposing a hydroxyalkanoate copolymer in the presence of a catalyst containing tin comprises, thermally decomposing the 3-hydroxypropionate-lactide copolymer in the presence of the catalyst containing tin to produce acrylic acid (0014-0015, 0047).
Regarding Claim 9, van Walsem shows the process of claim 8 above, including one wherein the thermal decomposition is performed at a temperature of 200-350C (0007).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-4 and 10-19 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MONICA HUSON whose telephone number is (571)272-1198. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8a-4p.
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MONICA ANNE HUSON
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1742
/MONICA A HUSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1742
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