DETAILED ACTION
Status of Application
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claims 8, 13, 15, 17-20, 22, 25, 28, and 31-55 are cancelled.
Claims 1-7, 9-12, 14, 16, 21, 23, 24, 26, 27, 29, and 30 are pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-7, 9-12, 14, 16, 21, 23, 24, 26, 27, 29, and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claims 1 and 30 are indefinite for reciting the phrase “the salt at least one of soluble and emulsifiable” which is unclear. Examiner understands that aliphatic acid and volatile base is combined to form a salt, but is unable to understand the phrase as highlighted above.
Claim 1 claims a method for making a composition for combination with a pesticidal composition including at least one pesticidal active ingredient and claim 30 claims the composition. The method is then further defined by said salt at least one of soluble or emulsifiable with at least one of the pesticidal composition. As the pesticidal composition is not defined and forms no part of the methods it is unclear how the solubility and/or emulsifiablity can be defined. The same applies to the composition claim 30.
Claims 2-7, 9-12, 14, 16, 21, 23, 24, 26, 27, and 29 are included in the rejection because they do not correct for the defect of the claim from which they depend.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claims 1-7, 9-12, 14, 16, 21, 23, 24, 26, 27, 29, and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hartley et al. (US Pat 3236622A) hereinafter Hartley.
Regarding claims 1-7, 9-12, 14, 16, 21, 23, 24, 26, 27, 29, and 30, Hartley discloses incorporating in the composition a volatile base and a long chain saturated aliphatic acid, droplets of these compositions can exhibit sufficiently delayed evaporation to reach the target in a liquid condition even in arid climates. The mixture of the volatile base and the acid acts also as dispersing agent and sticking agent (col. 1, ln 27-33). Hartley discloses a compound comprising salt of triethylamine or triethylamine and a long chain saturated aliphatic carboxylic acid or an unsaturated aliphatic carboxylic acid with at least two double bonds. These compounds act both as dispersing agent and sticking agent (col. 1, ln 17-22) Hartley discloses a composition containing an agricultural pesticidal chemical in a pesticidally effective amount, an amine selected from the group consisting of di-normal propyl amine, di-isopropyl amine, hexyl amines and methyl di ethyl amine, a saturated aliphatic carboxylic acid of 14 to 22 carbon atoms and at least one aliphatic alcohol of 3-5 carbon atoms, said amine being present in an amount comprising 50-500% (claim 1).
Hartley discloses a composition containing an amine selected from the group consisting of di-normal propylamine, di-isopropylamine, hexyl amines and methyl diethyl amine, a saturated aliphatic carboxylic acid of at least 13 carbon atoms and one or more aliphatic alcohols of 3-5 carbon atoms. The hexyl amine may be normal hexyl amine or a branched chain hexyl amine. According to a preferred embodiment of the composition also contains water (col. 1, ln 56-65) (col. 2, ln 4-7) The agricultural chemical may comprise a pesticide (col. 2, ln 20-21). The saturated aliphatic carboxylic acid of at least 13 carbon atoms is desirably solid at normal temperatures (col. 2, ln 44-47).
Hartley discloses the aliphatic alcohol may comprise isopropyl alcohol, normal butyl alcohol, secondary butyl alcohol, or secondary amyl alcohol (pentanol-2) or mixtures of any of these alcohols together or with other alcohols. However, it is preferred that the alcohol should comprise a branched chain compound and according to a preferred embodiment of the invention the alcohol is tertiary butyl alcohol, isobutyl alcohol, tertiary amyl alcohol or isoamyl alcohol (col. 2, ln 44-47).
Hartley does not explicitly disclose each of the components of the composition together as claimed in a single embodiment for an anticipation rejection.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Hartley, to arrive at the instant invention.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because Hartley discloses all the required ingredients and Hartley discloses incorporating in the composition a volatile base and a long chain saturated aliphatic acid, droplets of these com positions can exhibit sufficiently delayed evaporation to reach the target in a liquid condition even in arid climates. The mixture of the volatile base and the acid acts also as dispersing agent and sticking agent (col. 1, ln 27-33). Further, one having ordinary still in the art would reasonably expect success in combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results, see MPEP 2141.
Conclusion
No claims are allowed.
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/QUANGLONG N TRUONG/Examiner, Art Unit 1615