Patent Application 18851455 - AQUEOUS DISPERSION COMPOSITION - Rejection

Patent Application 18851455 - AQUEOUS DISPERSION COMPOSITION

Title: AQUEOUS DISPERSION COMPOSITION

Application Information

• Invention Title: AQUEOUS DISPERSION COMPOSITION
• Application Number: 18851455
• Submission Date: 2025-05-16T00:00:00.000Z
• Effective Filing Date: 2024-09-26T00:00:00.000Z
• Filing Date: 2024-09-26T00:00:00.000Z
• Examiner Employee Number: 85790
• Art Unit: 1766
• Tech Center: 1700

Rejection Summary

• 102 Rejections: 0
• 103 Rejections: 1

Cited Patents

The following patents were cited in the rejection:

• US 0264747🔗

Office Action Text

    DETAILED ACTION
This office action follows a reply filed on April 24, 2025.  Claim 1 has been amended.  Claims 1-11. are currently pending and under examination.
All previous rejections are withdrawn, as applicants have amended to limit component (B) to those listed.  However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is proposed below.
The texts of those sections of Title 35 U.S. Code are not included in this section and can be found in a prior Office action.
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 § 103
Claims 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2015/079919, as evidenced by Brown (US 2016/0264747); however, for convenience, the machine translation of WO ‘919 will be cited below.
WO ‘919 exemplifies an aqueous dispersion with an average particle size of 145 nm, the dispersion comprising the following (Example 15, a2-15):
100 parts (A) CPO-2, which is a maleic anhydride modified chlorinated polypropylene-ethylene copolymer having a molecular weight of 100,000, modified with 0.8 wt% maleic anhydride, which meets applicants’ (A);
3.6 parts (B) N,N’-dimethylethanolamine, which meets applicants’ (C); 
5 parts (C-1) which is a styrene-acrylic monomer copolymer having an acid value of 240 mg KOH/g, which meets applicants’ (D); and 
10 parts (E) polyoxyethylene lauryl ether.
WO ‘919 teaches polyoxyethylene alkylamines and polyoxyethylene alkylamides as functionally equivalent emulsifiers as component (E).  Choosing a polyoxyethylene laurylamine or polyoxyethylene laurylamide in place of polyoxyethylene lauryl ether is prima facie obvious.
WO ‘919 is prima facie obvious over instant claims 1, 4 and 5.
As to claims 7-11, WO ‘919 discloses the aqueous dispersion as suitable for use in paints, inks, sealants, primers or adhesives, as well as laminates.

As to claim 3, WO ‘919 exemplifies an aqueous dispersion with an average particle size of 134 nm, the dispersion comprising the following (Example 4, a2-4):
100 parts (A) PO-2, which is a maleic anhydride modified polypropylene-butene copolymer having a molecular weight of 80,000, modified with 1.0 wt% maleic anhydride, which meets applicants’ (A);
3.6 parts (B) N,N’-dimethylethanolamine, which meets applicants’ (C); 
5 parts (C-1) which is a styrene-acrylic monomer copolymer having an acid value of 240 mg KOH/g, which meets applicants’ (D); and 
10 parts (E) polyoxyethylene lauryl ether.
WO ‘919 teaches polyoxyethylene alkylamines and polyoxyethylene alkylamides as functionally equivalent emulsifiers as component (E).  Choosing a polyoxyethylene laurylamine or polyoxyethylene laurylamide in place of polyoxyethylene lauryl ether is prima facie obvious.
WO ‘919 exemplifies the acid modification amount as 1.0 wt%, whereas the claimed invention requires the amount to be less than 1.0 wt%.
Please consider the following:
"A prima facie case of obviousness exists where the claimed ranges and prior art ranges do not overlap but are close enough that one skilled in the art would have expected [the claimed product and a product disclosed in the prior art] to have the same properties." Titanium Metals Corp. of America v. Banner, 778 F.2d 775, 227 USPQ 773 (Fed. Cir. 1985).
One of ordinary skill in the art would expect a composition prepared with a maleic anhydride modified polypropylene-butene copolymer modified with 0.99 wt% maleic anhydride would be expected to possess similar properties to that of Example 4 of WO ‘919.
Additionally and/or alternatively, WO ‘919 teaches that the amount of modification of the acid is 0.1 to 10 wt%, where if the amount is too small, the sufficient dispersibility may be difficult; however, if it is too large, the water resistance of the coating may be adversely affected.
Modifying the polyolefin with an acid amount of less than 1.0 wt% is prima facie obvious, as this amount is clearly suggested by the teachings of WO ‘919.
WO ‘919 is prima facie obvious over instant claims 1 and 3-5.		
As to claim 2, WO ‘919 teaches that the modified polyolefin has a melting point of preferably 60-100°C, most preferably 70-90°C, the range of which overlaps with the claimed range of 60-85°C, and it has been held that overlapping ranges are sufficient to establish prima facie obviousness.  See MPEP 2144.05.  
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have selected from the overlapping portion of the range taught by the reference because overlapping ranges have been held to establish prima facie obviousness.
As to claim 6, WO ‘919 exemplifies the preparation of the modified polypropylene-butene copolymer as Tafmer XM7080, which as evidenced by Brown, has a butene content of 26% and a melting point of 83°C (p. 3, [0036]).
As to claims 7-11, WO ‘919 teaches the aqueous dispersion as suitable for use in paints, inks, sealants, primers or adhesives, as well as laminates.

Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments have been addressed in the new grounds of rejection above.

Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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.

Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRIEANN R JOHNSTON whose telephone number is (571)270-7344. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday, 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM EST.
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.
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.
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.





/Brieann R Johnston/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1766