DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-3 in the reply filed on April 24, 2026 is acknowledged.
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.
(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.
Claims 1 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Imamura et al. (US 9,963,564).
Comparative example 4 of Imamura et al. discloses a TFE/PPVE (6.1 wt %) copolymer exhibiting a melt flow rate of 25 g/10 min and having 5 functional groups per 106 main-chain carbon atoms. Present claims are drawn to a powder coating material, that is, a material that may be used for a powder coating. Therefore, the TFE/PPVE copolymer of prior art qualifies adequately as powder coating material.
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tsuda et al. (WO 2021/039861; equivalent US 2022/0266485 or US 12,318,973 relied upon for translation).
Example 1 of Tsuda et al. discloses a TFE/PPVE (5.6 wt %) copolymer exhibiting a melt flow rate of 30.9 g/10 min and having 4 functional groups per 106 main-chain carbon atoms. Present claims are drawn to a powder coating material, that is, a material that may be used for a powder coating. Therefore, the TFE/PPVE copolymer of prior art qualifies adequately as powder coating material.
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Tsuda et al. (US 2022/0266485).
Example 1 of Tsuda et al. discloses a TFE/PPVE (5.6 wt %) copolymer exhibiting a melt flow rate of 30.9 g/10 min and having 4 functional groups per 106 main-chain carbon atoms. Present claims are drawn to a powder coating material, that is, a material that may be used for a powder coating. Therefore, the TFE/PPVE copolymer of prior art qualifies adequately as powder coating material.
Applicant cannot rely upon the certified copy of the foreign priority application to overcome this rejection because a translation of said application has not been made of record in accordance with 37 CFR 1.55. When an English language translation of a non-English language foreign application is required, the translation must be that of the certified copy (of the foreign application as filed) submitted together with a statement that the translation of the certified copy is accurate. See MPEP §§ 215 and 216.
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Tsuda et al. (US 12,318,973; relying on foreign priority date of August 26, 2019).
Example 1 of Tsuda et al. discloses a TFE/PPVE (5.6 wt %) copolymer exhibiting a melt flow rate of 30.9 g/10 min and having 4 functional groups per 106 main-chain carbon atoms. Present claims are drawn to a powder coating material, that is, a material that may be used for a powder coating. Therefore, the TFE/PPVE copolymer of prior art qualifies adequately as powder coating material.
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Hamada et al. (US 12,459,174; relying on foreign priority date of February 26. 2021).
Synthesis example 8 in Table 3 of Hamada et al. discloses a TFE/PPVE (5.4 wt %) copolymer exhibiting a melt flow rate of 25.0 g/10 min and having less than 6 functional groups per 106 main-chain carbon atoms. Present claims are drawn to a powder coating material, that is, a material that may be used for a powder coating. Therefore, the TFE/PPVE copolymer of prior art qualifies adequately as powder coating material.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Rip A. Lee whose telephone number is (571)272-1104. The examiner can be reached on Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Robert Jones, can be reached at (571)270-7733. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571)273-8300.
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/RIP A LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1762 July 23, 2026
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