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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of group I, claims 1-8, and 20 (it is noted that claim 12 is an improper claim as written and therefore interpreted as a product claim, since it is dependent on claim 9) in the reply filed on 6/2/26 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the inventions are not independent of each other. This is not found persuasive because the grounds for the distinction between each patentable invention was specifically outlined in the restriction requirement dated 4/7/26. Since no argument was made regarding this restriction requirement, Applicant’s arguments are not persuasive.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL. Claims 9-11, 13-19 are withdrawn from consideration.
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) 1-5, 7, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Petitpierre US 4131695.
Per claim 1, Petitpierre teaches a method comprising depositing on a substrate comprising cellulose, an aqueous mixture comprising a modified cellulose polymer molecules and organic acid molecules comprising at least two carboxylic acid groups (col. 8, lines 46-58, Example 3, hydroxyethyl cellulose and maleic acid, also see abstract), removing water from the mixture deposited on the substrate to provide a coating (col. , lines 56-59), and wherein the organic acid molecules organic acid molecules have a melting point above ambient temperature and wherein the organic acid molecules are cross-linkable with the modified cellulose polymer molecules and the cellulose at or above ambient temperatures (col. 8, lines 46-58, Example 3).
Per claims 2, Petitpierre teaches maleic acid (Example 3) which has a melting point above 130 degrees C as an intrinsic chemical property.
Per claim 3, Petitpierre teaches a molar or mass ratio of the modified cellulose polymer molecules to organic acid molecules ranges from 10:1 to 1:10 (col. 8, lines 46-5, Example 3).
Per claims 4-5, Petitpierre teaches the organic acid molecules are naturally occurring (maleic acid, see above, is naturally occurring).
Per claim 7, Petitpierre teaches heating the substrate having the coating to a temperature of at least the melting point to provide cross-linking (col. 8, lines 46-63, Example 3).
Per claim 20, Petitpierre teaches the modified cellulose comprises at least one of the claimed molecules (col. 8, lines 46-58, Example 3, hydroxyethyl cellulose).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claim(s) 6 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Petitpierre US 4131695.
Per claim 6, Petitpierre does not explicitly teach the claimed viscosity. However, Petitpierre teaches controlling and selecting the material of the cellulose polymer molecules in a mixture (col. 8, line 68 to col. 9, line 9) and therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have controlled the viscosity to arrive at the desired results via routine experimentation (see MPEP 2144.05).
Per claim 8, Petitpierre does not explicitly teach a barrier having a TAPPI 559 standard kit test value as claimed. However, based on the teachings above (see claim 1), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to ensure that crosslinking on the substrate provides a barrier within the claimed range to optimize barrier properties and overall physical properties with a reasonable expectation for success and predictable results.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHAN T. LEONG whose telephone number is (571)270-5352. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10:00-6:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Gordon Baldwin can be reached at 571-272-5166. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NATHAN T LEONG/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1718
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