Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 17/310,241

SUNSCREEN COMPOSITIONS

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Jul 27, 2021
Examiner
TRUONG, QUANGLONG N
Art Unit
1615
Tech Center
1600 — Biotechnology & Organic Chemistry
Assignee
BEIERSDORF AG
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
79%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
2y 5m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 79% — above average
79%
Career Allow Rate
495 granted / 626 resolved
+19.1% vs TC avg
Strong +23% interview lift
Without
With
+23.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
49 currently pending
Career history
675
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
4.0%
-36.0% vs TC avg
§103
52.4%
+12.4% vs TC avg
§102
11.1%
-28.9% vs TC avg
§112
19.1%
-20.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 626 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . Claims 1-33 are cancelled. Claims 34-53 are pending. Response to Arguments/Amendments The amended claims and remarks filed 11/20/2025 have been fully considered and are persuasive in overcoming the previous rejections under 35 USC 103 over Amazaki and Lewis which are now withdrawn. However, in an updated search, Examiner now relies on the teachings of Albisetti et al. (US 20150374098 A1) hereinafter Albisetti. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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 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. 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. The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. Claims 34-53 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Albisetti et al. (US 20150374098 A1) hereinafter Albisetti. Regarding claims 34-53, Albisetti discloses the aqueous compositions of the invention may be in an O/W emulsion [0273]. Albisetti discloses a cosmetic process for treating and/or caring for human keratin materials, characterized in that it consists in applying to the surface of the keratin material (abstract). Albisetti discloses the cosmetic compositions according to the invention may comprise cosmetic sunscreens [0361]. Alibisetti discloses among the alkylpolyglycosides that may be used according to the invention, mention may be made of arachidylpolyglucoside such as that present in the commercial product Montanov 202® from the company SEPPIC [0329]. Albisetti discloses the mixture of nonionic surfactant and of fatty alcohol in accordance with the invention, mention may be made of: a mixture of arachidyl alcohol, behenyl alcohol and arachidylglucoside, such as the commercial product Montanov 202® from the company SEPPIC [0354-0355]. Alibisetti discloses use will be made more particularly of a mixture of arachidyl alcohol, behenyl alcohol and arachidylglucoside, such as the commercial product Montanov 202® from the company SEPPIC [0357]. Alibisetti discloses a crosslinked copolymer of 2-acrylamidomethyl propanesulfonic acid and of behenyl methacrylate polyethoxylated with 25 mol of ethylene oxide, crosslinked with trimethylolpropane triacrylate (INCI name: Ammonium acryloyldimethyltaurate/beheneth-25 methacrylate crosspolymer) sold under the name Aristoflex HMB by the company Clariant, and mixtures thereof [0090]. Alibisetti does not explicitly disclose each of the components of the composition in a single embodiment. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Alibisetti, to arrive at the instant invention. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because Alibisetti discloses all the required components in the emulsion composition, including Aristoflex HMB [0090] and Montanov 202 [0357] and in the composition in the form of an oil in water emulsion [0273] and comprising sunscreen [0361]. Further, one having ordinary still in the art would reasonably expect success in combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results, see MPEP 2141. Conclusion No claims are allowed. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to QUANGLONG N TRUONG whose telephone number is (571)270-0719. The examiner can normally be reached on 8:00am-5:00pm. 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, Robert A Wax can be reached on 571-272-0623. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /QUANGLONG N TRUONG/Examiner, Art Unit 1615
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jul 27, 2021
Application Filed
Dec 10, 2024
Non-Final Rejection — §103
Apr 15, 2025
Response Filed
Aug 16, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §103
Nov 20, 2025
Response Filed
Mar 14, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12551418
COSMETIC COTAINING ULTRAVIOLET WAVELENGTH CONVERTING SUBSTANCE AND MEDICINAL AGENT
2y 5m to grant Granted Feb 17, 2026
Patent 12539322
USE OF MULBERRY EXTRACT FOR CONTROLLING POSTPRANDIAL GLUCOSE RESPONSE
2y 5m to grant Granted Feb 03, 2026
Patent 12533309
Minoxidil Adjuvant Therapies
2y 5m to grant Granted Jan 27, 2026
Patent 12533321
POLYPEPTIDE FORMULATIONS FOR ORAL DELIVERY
2y 5m to grant Granted Jan 27, 2026
Patent 12527729
MINOXIDIL ADJUVANT THERAPIES
2y 5m to grant Granted Jan 20, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
79%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+23.2%)
2y 5m
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 626 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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