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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority (TR2022/007076, filed 28 April 2022) under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CELIK (“PROJECT NAME: SUPER HYDROPHOBIC OIL ABSORBER”, Teknofest: Aviation, Space and Technology Festival, 1 February 2022, XP093107096; cited by Applicant, machine translation provided by Google provided and referenced herein).
Regarding Claim 1, CELIK discloses the use of Verbascum thapsus as an adsorbent for cleanup operations in oil spills (i.e., [a] method for separating and cleaning a product mixed with water from the water, comprising using… Verbascum (mullein) as an absorbent material, wherein the product comprises oil and petroleum; §1 Project Summary, par. 1). Briefly, CELIK discloses pre-treating raw “mullein herb [sic]” by drying and grounding (i.e., pre-treated Verbascum; §4 Method, par. 3).
Regarding Claims 2 and 5, CELIK anticipates the method of Claim 1. CELIK further discloses the use of a fine netting or porous bag (i.e., the pre-treated Verbascum is further used in packages by placing the pre-treated Verbascum in a porous structure carrier material (Claim 2); the porous structure carrier material is a permeable material with a porous structure (Claim 5); §12 Project Images, see FIGs. 2 and 3).
Regarding Claims 3 and 4, CELIK anticipates the method of Claim 2. CELIK further discloses that the absorbent is designed as a “sausage” type absorbent (i.e., the porous structure carrier material is an absorbent pad (Claim 3); the porous structure carrier material is an absorbent cushion (Claim 4); §3 Solution, par. 2).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
LEE et al. (KR 101938616 B1) discloses an adsorbent material for eliminating oil spills, said adsorbent being made of eco-friendly materials (abstract). LEE further discloses the adsorbent can be packaged with filling material so as to prepare an adsorbent cushion (pg. 7, par. 2; Example 2 on pg. 8) or as an oil-absorbing pad (pg. 9, pars. 4-5).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RYAN B HUANG whose telephone number is (571)270-0327. The examiner can normally be reached 9 am-5 pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, In Suk Bullock can be reached at (571)272-5954. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Ryan B Huang/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1772
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