Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 04, 2026
Application No. 18/697,184

VINYLIDENE FLUORIDE POLYMER SOLUTION

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Mar 29, 2024
Priority
Oct 05, 2021 — JP 2021-164151 +1 more
Examiner
PEPITONE, MICHAEL F
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Kureha Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
74%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
6m
Est. Remaining
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 74% — above average
74%
Career Allowance Rate
894 granted / 1201 resolved
+14.4% vs TC avg
Strong +22% interview lift
Without
With
+21.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 0m
Avg Prosecution
40 currently pending
Career history
1236
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.0%
-38.0% vs TC avg
§103
41.7%
+1.7% vs TC avg
§102
22.2%
-17.8% vs TC avg
§112
20.7%
-19.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1201 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . Priority Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. 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) 1-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kubo et al. (US 2016/0028107). Regarding claims 1-11: Kubo et al. (US ‘107) discloses Preparation Example 5 [Prep. Ex. 5; 0076] prepares binder solution (5) containing 5 mass% of a HFP (hexafluoropropylene; 150.02 g/mol [0064])/VDF (vinylidene fluoride; 64.03 g/mol [0064]) copolymer (20mol%:80mol% HFP:VDF; corresponding to 37wt%:63wt% HFP:VDF) and butyl butyrate (144.21 g/mol; LogP 2.83 [see instant specification Table 2]) [Prep. Ex. 5; 0076]. As Kubo et al. (US ‘107) discloses a VDF/HFP copolymer (37wt%:63wt% HFP:VDF) [see also instant specification Table 1, polymer A] the claimed effects and physical properties, i.e. (B) having a peak top in a range of 60 °C or higher and lower than 100 °C in a DSC curve obtained by differential thermal analysis in accordance with ASTM D3418; and (C) in an X-ray diffraction pattern obtained by X-ray diffraction measurement, having at least one local maximum value in a diffraction angle range of 10° or more and 19.9° or less, and a maximum diffraction intensity in a diffraction angle range of 22.5° or more and 30° or less is equal to or less than a maximum diffraction intensity in a diffraction angle range of 10° or more and 19.9° or less [instant claim 1]; a haze value of 18% or less [instant claims 6 and 10-11], would inherently be achieved, as “Products of identical chemical composition can not have mutually exclusive properties.” A chemical composition and its properties are inseparable. Therefore, if the prior art teaches the identical chemical structure, the properties applicant discloses and/or claims are necessarily present. In re Spada, 911 F.2d 705, 709, 15 USPQ2d 1655, 1658 (Fed. Cir. 1990) [see MPEP 2112.01]. See attached form PTO-892. Correspondence Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL F PEPITONE whose telephone number is (571)270-3299. The examiner can normally be reached on 7:00 AM - 3:30 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, Mark Eashoo can be reached on 571-272-1197. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /MICHAEL F PEPITONE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1767
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Mar 29, 2024
Application Filed
Sep 15, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
74%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+21.9%)
3y 0m (~6m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1201 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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