DETAILED ACTION
Notice of 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 - Indefiniteness
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.
Claims 6-7, 13, and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Regarding these claims, the phrase "specifically" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitations following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-5, 8-12, 15, and 18-22 are allowed as presently advised.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter. Thies (US Patent 6,506,397). Thies discloses pest controlling compositions featuring microcapsules (abstract). The microcapsule has the active inside as well as a diluent, and the diluent can be beeswax (claim 16). Further, the microcapsules are prepared by processes such as complex coacervation or polymerization techniques (column 3, lines 34-56). The specific materials taught for making the microcapsule shell do not include shellac or other resins. Further, these are not polymerizable, and thus would not be able to make the suggested shells.
Shellac is known and used in microcapsules for pest control, but it is taught as being used as the internal material (like the diluent in Thies). An example of such is US Patent Application Publication 2015/0150250 (claim 12). A rearrangement to arrive at the shellac (or resin) for the shell of the microcapsule taught by Thies is not suggested by the prior art, and such a material would not be useful for the shell described by Thies.
Conclusion
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/Brian Gulledge/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1699
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