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
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) 1-5, 7, 8, 10-13 and 15-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Jiang et al. (US Patent No. 2017/0265428, disclosed by applicant).
Jiang et al. disclose a synergistic composition suitable for soil amendment (Abstract). Jiang et al. disclose a composition comprising zeolite particles, which comprise clinoptilolite, with a mesh size of -20 (0.841 mm)+50 and sodium bentonite (TABLE 15). The sodium bentonite would meet the limitation of montmorillonite expansive clay of he instant claims. The data sheets provided by applicant discloses the bentonite, BH-8 and BH-30 contain 0.38% CaO and include sieve analyses that indicate powdered morphology. TABLES 14 and 15 teach the weight ratio of zeolite to expansive clay, i.e. 50:50 (1:1), which meets the claimed ratio. Jiang et al. disclose the composition comprises sodium bentonite, which would meet the limitation of instant 12. Jiang et al. disclose the composition further comprise straw ([0061]). Jiang et al. disclose the composition may comprise xantham gum ([0063]).
Conclusion
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/NANNETTE HOLLOMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1612
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