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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 06/29/2026 has been entered.
Claims 1-38 are currently pending.
Claim Objections
Applicant is advised that should claim 1 be found allowable, claim 13 will be objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate thereof. When two claims in an application are duplicates or else are so close in content that they both cover the same thing, despite a slight difference in wording, it is proper after allowing one claim to object to the other as being a substantial duplicate of the allowed claim. See MPEP § 706.03(k).
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 31-33 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 31 recites “ wherein the polymer composition is formed by melt blending a carbon black masterbatch containing the carbon black particles with the liquid crystalline polymer resin”. However, claim 1 recites in part “ wherein a masterbatch consisting of 20wt.% of the carbon particles and 80 wt.% of the liquid crystalline polymer resin exhibits a surface resistivity greater than 1x108 ohms as determined according to ASTM D257-14.” It is not clear if applicants intend that carbon black masterbatch recited in claim 31 to be same as the masterbatch in claim 1 or different masterbatch. Furthermore, it is unclear how 2 different masterbatch can be included in the claimed invention when none of examples include 2 different masterbatch. Also, if the masterbatch in claim 31 and claim 1 are the same then claims 32 and 33 limitations are outside the scope of claim 1. The claims as written are indefinite and unclear. Appropriate correction is required.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-38 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-30 and 34-38 are allowed. The closest prior art, Xiao et al. (CN 114507419 A1) do not explicitly teach a polymer composition comprising a liquid crystalline polymer matrix comprising a liquid crystalline polymer resin and carbon black dispersed within the polymer matrix as instantly claimed.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHANCEITY N ROBINSON whose telephone number is (571)270-3786. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday (8:00 am-6:00 pm; IFP; PHP).
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/CHANCEITY N ROBINSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1737
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