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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed 07/20/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-13 have been amended. Claims 14-19 have been cancelled. Claims 1-13 are pending.
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 1-13 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Regarding claims 1, 10, The term “about” is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The limitation which includes a relative term: "about 10 to about 15 mL" is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. In particular, when wetting the PLA pellets with isopropyl alcohol. What amount specific quantity is required to satisfy the limitation “about 10 mL”? 8 mL? As the written description does not provide guidance to ascertain the requisite degree of the term, one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
Claims 2-9, 11-13 are rejected by virtue of their dependence upon and because the fail to cure the deficiencies of claims 1, 10.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-13 are allowed if the 112 rejections above, are overcome. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The closest prior art of record:
Shi teaches a composition of algae and thermoplastic resin. However, the forming of the composition does not explicitly teach or reasonably suggest: “wetting an amount of PLA pellets in the range of >0 g to 150 g with an amount of isopropyl alcohol in the range of 10 - 15mL to obtain a mixture of wet PLA pellets; mixing an amount of the sargassum nanopowder particles to the mixture of wet PLA pellets to obtain one or more coated PLA pellets with at least >0 wt% of sargassum; and drying the coated PLA pellets” as claimed in independent claims 1 and 10.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CEDRICK S WILLIAMS whose telephone number is (571) 272-9776. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Thursday 8:00am-5:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Katelyn Smith can be reached on (571) 270-5545. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
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/CEDRICK S WILLIAMS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1749
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