DETAILED ACTION
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 with traverse of Group I in the reply filed on 6/10/2025 is acknowledged. Applicants do not provide reasons for the traversal and thus it is not found persuasive.
The restriction requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
3. Claims 36, 39, 43, 47, 52 and 53 have been withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected Group, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 6/10/2025.
Claim Objections
4. Claims 36, 39, 43, 47 and 52 are objected to because of the following informalities: wrong status identifiers. For any amendment being filed in response to a restriction or election of species requirement and any subsequent amendment, any claims which are non-elected must have the status identifier (withdrawn). Any non-elected claims which are being amended must have either the status identifier (withdrawn) or (withdrawn – currently amended) and the text of the non-elected claims must be presented with markings to indicate the changes. Any non-elected claims that are being canceled must have the status identifier (canceled).
5. Claim 59 is objected to in view of a missing status identifier.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections- 35 USC § 112
6. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 4-5, 20-21 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
This rejection has been withdrawn in view of the Amendment filed 12/02/2025.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
7. 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)(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.
8. Claims 1, 4 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being (a)(2) by Dong et al. CN 109504094 A.
Dong teaches a nanomelanin particle comprising melanin nanoparticle dispersed in an organic solvent comprising water and ethanol and a coating agent such as polysiloxane. Dong also teaches nanomelanin particles having diameter between about 60 nm and about 400 nm. See Abstract and Examples. The mass ratio between melanin and coating agent can be found in the Examples and the Claims.
Claim Rejections- 35 USC § 103
9. 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.
10. Claims 1-2, 4-7, 9-10, 20-21 and 27-28 and 34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Solis (US 20170296511) in view of Lee (US 20120205590), Yamamoto et al. (US 20180250224), Sakamoto et al. (US 20070270378) and Liang et al. (EP 2785328) as evidenced by Hydroxyethyl cellulose
This rejection has been withdrawn in view of the Amendment filed 12/02/2025.
11. Claims 1, 4, 5, 9, 10, 22, 27, 34 and 54-59 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dadachova et al. US 2007/0237829 A1, in view of Dong et al. CN 109504094 A.
Dadachova teaches a nanoshell comprising melanin. Melanins are high-molecular weight pigments, arising in the course of oxidation and polymerization of phenols. The nanoshell can comprise polymerized L-dopa, epinephrine, methyldopa, a substituted phenol derivative and/or a phenolic derivative that polymerizes into melanin. Melanin comprises allomelanin, pheomelanin and/or eumelanin. Eumelanins are derived from the precursor tyrosine. See paragraphs 0027-0029. Particles comprising the melanin nanoshell have a diameter of about 10 nm to about 1,000 nm is found in paragraph 0039. Dadachova teaches a method of protecting an object or a subject from radiation and/or from electronic pulses, where the method comprises providing melanin nanoshells between the object or subject to be protected and a source of the radiation and/or electronic pulses. The melanin nanoshells can be fabricated in or on the source of the radiation and/or electronic pulses, and/or the melanin nanoshells can be fabricated in or on the object or subject to be protected from radiation and/or from electronic pulses. As used herein, to protect against radiation and electronic pulses means to reduce the amount of radiation or electronic pulses reaching the object or subject to be protected, compared to the amount of radiation and electronic pulses that would reach the object or subject in the absence of the melanin nanoshells. The melanin can be internal and/or external to the object or subject. The radiation can comprise ionizing radiation. The radiation can be, for example, one or more of gamma radiation, x-ray radiation, solar radiation, cosmic radiation, electromagnetic radiation, bremsstrahlung radiation, ultraviolet radiation, and particulate radiation (e.g., .alpha.-radiation and .beta.-radiation). The source of the radiation can be a medical isotope. The melanin nanoshells can be, for example fabricated in a material, mixed in a material, layered in a material, or coated onto a material. The object that is protected can be, for example, a computer, an electronic component or circuit, a printed circuit board, a cell phone, an avionic system and/or a satellite component. The subject that is protected can be an animal, a human, and/or a plant. For a human or animal subject, one or more internal organs can be protected, for example bone marrow, liver, spleen, kidneys, lungs, and/or portions or all of the gastrointestinal tract. See paragraphs 0034-0037. The invention also provides materials comprising melanin nanoshells fabricated in and/or on the material. Since melanin nanoshells are negatively charged, they can be attracted or held in place with positively charged substances, or repelled using negatively charged substances. The material, for example, can be coated with melanin nanoshells and/or encased in melanin nanoshells. The melanin nanoshells can be incorporated into the material. The material can be a plastic that is impregnated with melanin nanoshells or a surface where melanin is polymerized and/or melanin nanoshells are attached. The melanin nanoshells can be in a binder between two layers of material. The material comprising the melanin nanoshells can be used, for example, as clothing, a protective gear, a object worn by a subject, or a packaging material. The material can be, or can be incorporated into, a wall, floor and/or ceiling of a room, building, vehicle, aircraft, ship, spacecraft, and/or submarine. See paragraphs 0041-0044.
Dadachova does not expressly teach the claimed melanin particle with binder/coating composition.
Dong teaches a nanomelanin particle comprising melanin nanoparticle dispersed in an organic solvent comprising water and ethanol and a coating agent such as polysiloxane. Dong also teaches nanomelanin particles having diameter between about 60 nm and about 400 nm. See Abstract and Examples. The mass ratio between melanin and coating agent can be found in the Examples and the Claims.
Thus, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to optimize the teaching in Dadachova to include the nanomelanin particle in view of the teaching in Dong with the expectation to obtain a composition useful in the art. This is because Dong teaches the claimed nanomelatin composition having improved ultraviolet absorption effect, which is good for the ultraviolet shielding material field, and this is because Dadachova teaches the desirability for using nanomelanin particle in radiation protecting composition.
Response to Arguments
12. Applicant’s arguments filed 12/02/2025 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
13. 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.
Correspondence
14. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SUSAN T TRAN whose telephone number is (571)272-0606. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30 am-5:30 pm.
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 at 571-272-0623. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SUSAN T TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1615
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