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 § 102/103
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 (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.
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.
Claims 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by USPAP 2020/0122874 to Doster or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over USPAP 2020/0122874 to Doster in view of WO 2010/139056 to Mohanty and/or USPAP 2022/0033648 to Vaisanen.
Claim 1, Doster discloses a composite material comprising lignin, a biodegradable thermoplastic polymer and a fibrous material (see entire document including [0005], [0006], [0056] and [0057]). In the event that it is shown that the applied prior art does not disclose the claimed embodiment with sufficient specificity, the invention is obvious because the prior art specifically discloses the claimed constituents.
Claim 2, the biodegradable thermoplastic polymer is polybutylene succinate [0006].
Claim 3, the fibrous material is a natural fibrous material [0006].
Claim 4, the natural fibrous material is hemp [0006].
Claim 5, the lignin and the biodegradable thermoplastic polymer are present in a polymer blend [0006].
Claim 6, the fibrous material is a sheet of the fibrous material ([0056] and the Figures).
Claim 7, the sheet of the fibrous material is fused with a polymer blend comprising the lignin and the biodegradable thermoplastic polymer [0067].
Claims 8 and 9, Doster does not appear to mention a specific lignin weight percent but Mohanty discloses that it is known in the art to include lignin in an amount of up to 70% by weight of the combined amount of lignin and biodegradable thermoplastic polymer (see entire document including pages 1 and 10). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to make the composite material of Doster with the claimed amounts of lignin and biodegradable thermoplastic polymer, because it is within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known amount on the basis of its suitability and desired characteristics.
Claim 10, Doster does not appear to mention the specific fibrous material weight percentage but Doster discloses that the fibrous (structural) layer thickness maybe varied based on the desired structural integrity, rigidity, thermal properties, and insulating properties for the particular application [0056]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to vary the weight percent of the fibrous material, such as claimed, based on the desired structural integrity, rigidity, thermal properties, and insulating properties for the particular application.
Claim 11, the composite is in the form of a sheet (Figures).
Claim 12, the composite is biodegradable ([0003], [0006], [0056] and [0057]).
Claim 13, Doster does not appear to mention the composite comprising a dielectric heating susceptor material but Vaisanen discloses that it is known in the art to include a dielectric heating susceptor material (e.g. carbon black) to provide color properties to a composite (see entire document including [0001], [0007], [0041], [0057], [0058], [0087] and [0088]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to include a dielectric heating susceptor material to provide color properties to the composite.
Claim 14, Doster discloses packaging formed from the composite material ([0053] and [0069]).
Claim 15, Doster discloses a method of forming the composite material comprising the steps of: a) blending lignin and a biodegradable thermoplastic polymer to form a polymer blend; b) forming the polymer blend into a sheet of the polymer blend; c) providing a sheet of the fibrous material; and d) combining the sheet of the polymer blend and the sheet of fibrous material to form the composite material (see entire document including the Figures, [0005], [0006], [0056], [0057] and [0067]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW T PIZIALI whose telephone number is (571)272-1541. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Marla McConnell can be reached at 571-270-7692. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANDREW T PIZIALI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1789