DETAILED NON-FINAL REISSUE 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 .
Reissue Applications
For reissue applications filed on or after September 16, 2012, all references to 35 U.S.C. 251 and 37 CFR 1.172, 1.175, and 3.73 are to the current provisions.
Applicant is reminded of the continuing obligation under 37 CFR 1.178(b), to timely apprise the Office of any prior or concurrent proceeding in which Patent No. 11,524,150 is or was involved. These proceedings would include interferences, reissues, reexaminations, and litigation.
Applicant is further reminded of the continuing obligation under 37 CFR 1.56, to timely appraise the Office of any information which is material to patentability of the claims under consideration in this reissue application.
These obligations rest with each individual associated with the filing and prosecution of this application for reissue. See also MPEP §§ 1404, 1422.01, and 1442.04.
Priority
United States Patent No. 11,524,150 was filed on 27 August 2019 and claims priority to provisional application 62/729,058 filed on 10 September 2018.
Information Disclosure Statement (IDS)
The IDS filed on 26 February 2025 has been considered. Lined-through references were not considered because:
(i) A concise explanation of the relevance, as it is presently understood by the individual designated in § 1.56(c) most knowledgeable about the content of the information, of each patent, publication, or other information listed that is not in the English language. The concise explanation may be either separate from applicant’s specification or incorporated therein.
(ii) A copy of the translation if a written English-language translation of a non-English-language document, or portion thereof, is within the possession, custody, or control of, or is readily available to any individual designated in § 1.56(c).
Enclosed is a signed copy of the IDS.
Claim Status
The following is the status of the claims
Claims 1-22 are pending.
Claims 1, 18, and 19 are amended.
Claims 2-17 and 20 are original.
Claims 21 and 22 are new.
Improper Amendment
The application for reissue filed 5 December 2024 proposes amendment to the claims that do not comply with 37 CFR 1.173(b), which sets forth the manner of making amendments in reissue applications.
37 CFR 1.173(b) relates to the manner of making amendments to the claims in reissue applications. 37 CFR 1.173(b) requires that for each new claim added to the reissue by the amendment being submitted (the current amendment), the entire text of the added claim must be presented completely underlined.
Additionally, 37 CFR 1.173(b) further requires that any matter to be omitted from a claim by reissue must be enclosed in (single) brackets. See MPEP 1453 II.
In the instant case it is noted that new claims 21 and 22 are not underlined and the omission of the number “50” in amended claims 1, 18, and 19 is indicated by a strikethrough not by brackets as required by CFR 1.173(b)(2).
Defective Reissue Oath/Declaration
The reissue oath/declaration filed with this application is defective (see 37 CFR 1.175(b) and MPEP §1414) because of the following:
The reissue declaration filed 5 December 2024 states that the instant reissue is broadening but does not identify a single word, phrase, or expression in the specification or in an original claim, and how it renders the original patent wholly or partly inoperative or invalid. A general statement, e.g., claims 1, 18, and 19 are amended, is not sufficient to satisfy this requirement. Additionally, the error statement in the reissue declaration does not identify the specific claim(s) that the application seeks to broaden.
Claim Rejection – 35 U.S.C. §251
Claims 1-21 are rejected as being based upon a defective reissue declaration under 35 U.S.C. §251 as set forth above. See 37 CFR 1.175).
The nature of the defect(s) in the declaration is set forth in the discussion above in this Office action.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-22 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 251 set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter. The closest identified prior art references are described below.
Handlin et al., WO 03/066731 discloses a medical tube formed from a block copolymer comprising at least one A block which is a mono alkenyl homopolymer block and at least one B block which is a controlled distribution copolymer block of at least one conjugated diene and at least one mono alkenyl arene [abstract, 0004, 0005, 0030, claim 7]. Handlin et al. disclose that the block copolymer may have an A-B-A structure that the A block an average molecular weight between 3,000 and 60,000 and the B block has an average molecular weight between 30,000 and 300,000 [0016, 0017, claim 1]. Handlin et al. additionally teach a blockiness index of less than 10 [0011].
Handlin et al. do not teach or suggest the claimed proportions of reduced arene and diene double bonds. Handlin et al. also do not teach the claimed melt flow ratio, the claimed Shore A hardness, the claimed DMA peak tan delta, or the claimed order-disorder transition temperature.
Wright et al., US 2011/0184082 disclose a medical tube comprising a hydrogenated block copolymer having at least one block “A” and at least one block “B” [abstract, 0001, 0007, 0024, 0046, 0048, 0049, 0086, claim 1]. The hydrogenated block copolymer may have a formula of A-B-A [0048]. The block “A” is an mono alkenyl arene homopolymer and the block “B” is a controlled distribution copolymer of at least one conjugated diene and at least one mono alkenyl arene [0009, 0024, claim 1].
Each block “A” has a number average molecular weight of between about 3,000 to about 60,000 and each block “B” average molecular weight of between about 30,000 to about 300,000 [0011, 0019, 0027, 0035, claim 1]. The “B” block preferably has a styrene blockiness index of less than 10 percent [0044].
Wright teaches that subsequent to hydrogenation, about 0 to 10% of the arene double bonds are reduced and at least about 90% of the conjugated diene bonds are reduced as claimed [0010, 0018, 0026, 0034]. Wright further teaches that weight percent of mono alkenyl arene in each “B” block is between about 10 and about 75 percent [0014, 0022, 0030, 0038, claim 1] which renders obvious the midblock poly(monoalkenyl arene) content (see MPEP 2144.05).
Wright is silent regarding the melt flow ratio, Shore A hardness, DMA peak tan delta temperature, and order-disorder transition temperature of the hydrogenated block copolymer.
A thorough search of the relevant prior art did not reveal a reference or combination of references which would have led one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the hydrogenated styrene block copolymers of the inventions of either Handlin et al. or Wright et al. in order to arrive at a hydrogenated copolymer having the claimed Shore A hardness, DMA peak tan delta temperature, and order-disorder transition temperature with a reasonable expectation of success. As such, the closest cited prior art of record does not reasonably teach or suggest the invention recited in instant claims 1-22.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LEE E SANDERSON whose telephone number is (571) 270-1079. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:30AM to 7:00PM.
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/LEE E SANDERSON/Reexamination Specialist, Art Unit 3991
Conferees:
/LEONARDO ANDUJAR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3991
/Patricia L Engle/SPRS, Art Unit 3991