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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 11/04/2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Applicant's amendment and argument filed 11/04/2025 in response to the final rejection, are acknowledged and have been fully considered. Any previous rejection or objection not mentioned herein is withdrawn.
Claims 1-19 are pending of which claims 11-19 remain withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 08/09/2022.
Claims 1-10 are being examined on the merits.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-5 and 7-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ben Geiling and Tom Shipley (WO2019104442A1), hereinafter Geiling. This a new rejection based on the amendments filed on 11/04/2025.
Regarding claim 1, 3 and 10, Geiling teaches “an emulsion comprising at least one cannabis or cannabis derived compound, a carrier oil, and an aqueous solution” (see claim 13) and teaches a variety of carrier oils to be chosen from, of which different medium chain fatty acids such as (e.g., caproic acid, caprylic acid, capric acid, lauric acid) and long- chain triglycerides (LCT oil), long-chain fatty acids (e.g., myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, arachidic acid, linoleic acid), can be selected (see claim 14).
Geiling teaches “[0090] Extraction in natural products chemistry is a separation process comprising the separation of a substance from a matrix of natural materials and includes liquid-liquid extraction, solid phase extraction and what is commonly referred to as super-critical extraction. The distribution of any given compound or composition (hereinafter desired material) between two phases is an equilibrium condition described by partition theory. This is based on exactly how the desired material moves from a first solution, typically water or other material capable of dissolving a desired material with a first solubility of the desired material, into second material.
Regarding claim 2, Geiling teaches formulations comprising terpenes (see claim 2).
Regarding claim 4, Geiling teaches “emulsions stabilized by surfactants or other types of stabilizing agents phospholipids, amphiphilic proteins, or polysaccharides” (see 0068).
Regarding claim 5, Geiling teaches purified water (see 0073) and acids (see above).
Regarding claim 7, Geiling teaches “most of historical cannabis beverages were prepared by boiling or grinding cannabis leaves, combining with water, milk, alcohol, or another biocompatible matrix and, optionally, mixing with herbal or other plant-based compositions to form the final consumable” (see 0014).
Regarding claim 8, Geiling teaches ultrasonication (see 0069-0070).
Regarding claim 9, Geiling teaches supercritical CO2 extraction (see 0092).
Therefore it would have been obvious to persons having skill in the art and before the effective filing date to create the instant invention because Geiling teaches of cannabinoid compositions which consists of emulsions and carrier oils. The carrier oil would act as the emulsifying agent and persons having skill in the art could select one of the acid medium/long chain fatty acids which would help to create an acid solution. Geiling also teaches that it is an intention to dissolve the active components in solution and thus the instant invention is prima facie obvious.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ben Geiling and Tom Shipley (WO2019104442A1) as applied to claims 1-5 and 7-10 above, and further in view of Stanton (US4284657A). This a new rejection based on the amendments filed on 11/04/2025.
Geiling teaches the instant invention, however is silent on the colloidal mixture comprising acidic aqueous solutions which comprise of the components of claim 6.
Stanton teaches of fluidized oleoresin compositions and teaches wherein phosphoric acid may be useful for providing low pH aqueous mixtures and to act as a preserving agent in oleoresin compositions (see column 4 lines 31-35).
Therefore it would have been obvious to persons having ordinary skill in the art and before the effective filing date to use phosphoric acid in the aqueous solution described by Geiling for creating colloidal/oleoresin compositions because it can lower the pH and act as a preservative as discussed by Stanton.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-10 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on the same reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Currently no claims are allowed.
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JACOB A BOECKELMAN Examiner, Art Unit 1655
/ANAND U DESAI/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1655