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 § 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) 1-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Namba et al. (2021/0187359). Claims 1-6, and 9, Namba discloses a golf ball comprising a core and a cover, wherein the cover is formed of a resin composition made chiefly of a polyurethane resin such as Pandex and Resamine [0062]. Applicant also discloses commercially available polyurethanes Pandex and Resamine may be used as the polyurethane [0032]. Since the materials are identical the properties such as crosslink density of at least 1.4×102 mol/m3 and not more than 35×102 mol/m3 will also be identical. Claim 7, the cover has a thickness of 1.5 mm or less [0064]. Claim 8, the polyurethane resin has a Shore D hardness of from 30 to 50 [0065].
Claim(s) 1 and 7-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sullivan (2012/0080824). Claims 1 and 9, Sullivan discloses a golf ball comprising a cover made from a polyurethane having a crosslink density of at least 10 mol/m3 and not more than 300 mol/m3 [0001, 0114]. Claim 7, the cover thickness is 0.02 to 0.12 inches (0.51 to 3 mm) [0123]. Claim 8, the polyurethane resin has a Shore D hardness of at least 45 [0074].
Conclusion
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/RAEANN GORDEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3711
September 10, 2026
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