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 § 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 1-16 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 1 recites, “said tube.” It is not clear which tube is being referred to…the multilayer tubular structure or the monolayer and/or multilayer tube having been intended for the transportation of motor vehicle fluid?
Claim 1 twice recites, “various treatments” which is an omnibus phrase and it is unclear what is included or excluded but the claim, therefore, the metes and bounds of the claim are not clearly defined.
Claim recites the phrase, “chosen from” which is an improper Markush grouping (MPEP 2117). Respectfully, the phrase should be changed to - - selected from the group consisting of - -.
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) 1-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as being anticipated by WO 2021/234263 (English machine translation provided herein).
The limitations, “said tube having undergone various treatments chosen from a grinding and then a recompounding, wherein after grinding, the ground particles are fed into an extruder, where they are remixed by melting, and a grinding, the a recompounding and subsequently a reformulation in order to be recycled, a simple grinding being excluded from the various treatments” are method limitations which have been given little to no patentable weight because the method by which a product is made is not germane to the patentability of the product in a product claim (MPEP 2113).
WO 2021/234263 (claim 1) discloses a multilayer tubular structure (MLT) intended for transporting fluids for a motor vehicle, in particular air, oil,
water, a urea solution, a glycol-based coolant, or a fuel such as gasoline, in particular alcohol-based gasoline,bio-gasoline or diesel, in particular bio-diesel, or hydrogen, the structure consisting of two layers: a layer 1 consisting of a composition comprising predominantly at least one semicrystalline aliphatic polyamide, the composition
consisting of at least 50% recycled material from a single-layer and/or multilayer tube that has been intended for transporting fluids for a motor vehicle, in particular as defined above, the tube consisting of a composition which comprises predominantly at least one polyamide, a layer 2 consisting of a composition comprising predominantly at least one semicrystalline aliphatic polyamide and optionally at least one impact modifier, and when the layer 2 consists of a composition comprising predominantly at least one semicrystalline aliphatic polyamide that is PA12 and/or PA612 and/or PA1010, then the composition comprises the impact modifier, and the layer 2 consisting of at least 90% non-recycled material.
WO 2021/234263 discloses the subject matter of claim 2 (claim 4 in ‘263), claim 3 (claim 6 in ‘263), claim 4 (claim 7 in ‘263), claim 5 (claim 8 in ‘263), claim 6 (claim 9 in ‘263), claim 7 (claim 10 in ‘263), claim 8 (claim 11 in ‘263), claim 9 (claim 12 in ‘263), claim 10 (claim13 in ‘263), claim 11 (claim 14 in ‘263), claim 12 (claim 15 in ‘263), claim 13 (claim 16 in ‘263), claim 14 (claim 17 in ‘263), claim 15 (claim 18 in ‘263), and
claim 16 (claim 19 in ‘263).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL C MIGGINS whose telephone number is (571)272-1494. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 1-9 pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Aaron Austin can be reached at 571-272-8935. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHAEL C MIGGINS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1782
MCM
September 26, 2026
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