DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Election/Restrictions
2. Applicant’s election without traverse of Group 1, claims 1-3 in the reply filed on 4/30/2026 is acknowledged. Claims 4 and 5.
Information Disclosure Statement
3. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 5/2/2025 and 1/20/2026 were filed timely. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
4. 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.
5. Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by (US 2002/0120062 A1) to Nagahara et al. (hereinafter Nagahara).
Nagahara is directed toward thermoplastic resin compositions and articles capable of being plated. Nagahara discloses at paragraph [0057] that the molded article may be plated. Nagahara discloses at paragraph [0007] that the composition includes a rubber-reinforced thermoplastic resin (A) obtained by graft polymerizing a monomeric mixture (b) comprising an aromatic vinyl compound, a vinyl cyanide compound and optionally other copolymerizable monomeric compound(s) in the presence of a rubber-like polymer (a). Nagahara discloses at paragraph [0008] that the content of the rubber-like polymer (a) in the rubber-reinforced thermoplastic resin (A) being 10 to 25% by weight, which reads on Applicants range of 20% to 40%. Nagahara discloses no metal oxide presence, which is therefore less than 4500 ppm. Nagahara discloses at paragraph [0069] that the optional other resin may include a polycarbonate. Nagahara discloses each and every element of claims 1 and 2.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
6. In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
7. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
8. Claims 1 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (US 2002/0120062 A1) to Nagahara et al. (hereinafter Nagahara).
Nagahara is directed toward thermoplastic resin compositions and articles capable of being plated. Nagahara discloses at paragraph [0057] that the molded article may be plated. Nagahara discloses at paragraph [0007] that the composition includes a rubber-reinforced thermoplastic resin (A) obtained by graft polymerizing a monomeric mixture (b) comprising an aromatic vinyl compound, a vinyl cyanide compound and optionally other copolymerizable monomeric compound(s) in the presence of a rubber-like polymer (a). Nagahara discloses at paragraph [0008] that the content of the rubber-like polymer (a) in the rubber-reinforced thermoplastic resin (A) being 10 to 25% by weight, which reads on Applicants range of 20% to 40%. Nagahara discloses no metal oxide presence, which is therefore less than 4500 ppm. Nagahara discloses at paragraph [0069] that the optional other resin may include a polycarbonate.
It would be obvious to one skilled in the art at the time of the filing of the disclosure of Nagahara to select each and every element of the claims to form a prime facie case of obviousness for claims 1 and 2.
9. Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (US 2002/0120062 A1) to Nagahara et al. (hereinafter Nagahara) in view of the teachings of (US 2020/0181400 A1) to Yamashita et al. (hereinafter Yamashita).
Nagahara is directed toward thermoplastic resin compositions and articles capable of being plated. Nagahara discloses at paragraph [0057] that the molded article may be plated. Nagahara discloses at paragraph [0007] that the composition includes a rubber-reinforced thermoplastic resin (A) obtained by graft polymerizing a monomeric mixture (b) comprising an aromatic vinyl compound, a vinyl cyanide compound and optionally other copolymerizable monomeric compound(s) in the presence of a rubber-like polymer (a). Nagahara discloses at paragraph [0008] that the content of the rubber-like polymer (a) in the rubber-reinforced thermoplastic resin (A) being 10 to 25% by weight, which reads on Applicants range of 20% to 40%. Nagahara discloses no metal oxide presence, which is therefore less than 4500 ppm. Nagahara discloses at paragraph [0069] that the optional other resin may include a polycarbonate.
Yamashita is directed toward thermoplastic resin compositions and articles capable of being plated. Nagahara and Yamashita are both directed toward thermoplastic resin compositions and articles capable of being plated and therefore are analogous art. Yamashita teaches at paragraph [0020] that an aromatic polycarbonate resin may be used in the composition. Yamashita teaches at paragraph [0031] that a rubber containing graft containing copolymer is used. Yamashita teaches at paragraph [0033] that the amount of components derived from the rubber polymer in the rubber-containing graft copolymer (B) is preferably 35% to 70% by mass, and more preferably 45% to 60% by mass. Yamashita teaches at paragraph [0049] that the composition may include recycled articles which is recovered from polymerization steps, manufacturing steps or molding steps, or recovered from the marketplace can also be used as any of the essential components or optional components used in the present embodiment, as long as quality issues are not caused, which is cost saving and environmentally friendly, which would motivate one skilled in the art to combine the teachings.
It would be obvious to one skilled in the art at the time of the filing of the disclosure of Nagahara in view of the teachings of Yamashita to use a recycled material as the other for environmental reasons to form a prime facie case of obviousness for claims 1-3.
Conclusion
10. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEFFREY D WASHVILLE whose telephone number is (571)270-3262. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
11. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
12. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Randy Gulakowski can be reached at 571-272-1302. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
13. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JEFFREY D WASHVILLE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1766
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