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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Jaber et al (US 2018/0185835).
Jaber teaches a method as in claims 1-3 and 5. Paragraph [0036] teaches hydrophilic polymer (membrane) as polyethersulfone, etc., and includes nylon, which applicant discloses as the hydrophilic polymer, as less preferable. Example 1 has 0.4% benzophenone solution in IPA (and water: please note that IPA has water present because it forms an azeotrope,) as disclosed and claimed. Example 4 shows DADMAC as the charged monomer as in claim 7. The process involves contacting the membrane with benzophenone solution, exchanging the IPA with a water solution, then contacting the membrane with the grafting solution, squeezing the excess solution out and then exposing to UV radiation.
Therefore, claims 1-3 and 5-7 are anticipated. Regarding claim 4, Jaber teaches removing excess IPA by rinsing instead of drying. However, such drying to remove the IPA is considered only as an obvious equivalent process step, which is unpatentable, unless otherwise shown. See MPEP 2143: examples of rationales that may support a conclusion of obviousness include:
(B) Simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results;
(C) Use of known technique to improve similar devices (methods, or products) in the same way;
(D) Applying a known technique to a known device (method, or product) ready for improvement to yield predictable results;
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KRISHNAN S MENON whose telephone number is (571)272-1143. The examiner can normally be reached Flexible, but generally Monday-Friday: 8:00AM-4:30PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Prem Singh can be reached at 5712720579. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KRISHNAN S MENON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1771
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