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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is a response to Applicant’s Election filed February 5, 2026.
Claims 10-16, 21, 22 and 30-39 have been amended.
Claims 1-39 are pending in the present application.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election (without traverse) of Group II in the reply filed on February 5, 2026 is acknowledged. Applicant’s further species election of the position number 4320 to 4390 of the nucleobases of SEQ ID NO:2 and a compound comprising a modified oligonucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 586 in the reply filed on February 5, 2025 are also acknowledged.
Claims 1-5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 14 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on February 5, 2026.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Accordingly, claims 6, 8, 10, 12 and 15-39 have been examined on the merits as detailed below:
Information Disclosure Statement
Applicant’s information disclosure statement (IDS) filed April 18, 2025 is acknowledged. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR §1.97. Accordingly, the Examiner has considered the information disclosure statement, and a signed copy is enclosed herewith.
Applicant’s IDS filed July 27, 2022 is acknowledged. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR §1.97. Accordingly, the Examiner has considered the information disclosure statement, and a signed copy is enclosed herewith.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copies can be found in the application as filed.
Drawings
It is noted that there are no Drawings associated with the instant application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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 37 and 38 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
The claims are indefinite because the term, “ATN1” is not clearly defined. Since abbreviations often have more than one meaning, it is suggested that inserting the full name of the Atrophin1 would be appropriate.
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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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 pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) 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.
Claims 6, 8, 12, 15, 19-21, 30, 32-34 and 36-39 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2018154462 A2 to CRISPR Therapeutics AG.
The claims are drawn to a compound comprising a modified oligonucleotide which consists of 8 to 80 nucleosides complementary to a part in a nucleobase sequence selected from the group consisting of nucleobase sequences represented by position numbers 383 to 398, 986 to 1001, 1004 to 1019, 1378 to 1393, 1398 to 1413, 1853 to 1868, 1971 to 1986, 2189 to 2204, 2522 to 2537, 2562 to 2577, 3662 to 3677, 3987 to 4002, 4217 to 4232, 4266 to 4281, 4335 to 4350, 4360 to 4375, 4477 to 4492, 4562 to 4577, 4636 to 4651, 4687 to 4702, 4734 to 4749, 4840 to 4855, 5536 to 5563, 5568 to 5592, 5632 to 5651, 5666 to 5715, 5906 to 5925, 5959 to 5978, 6176 to 6191, 6215 to 6266, 6963 to 6978, 7248 to 7284, 7286 to 7343, 7351 to 7410, 7491 to 7510, 7512 to 7544, 7563 to 7580, 7605 to 7647, 7649 to 7668, 7695 to 7714, 7719 to 7764, 7780 to 7799, 7804 to 7823, 7882 to 7901, 7921 to 7948, 8035 to 8054, 8064 to 8124, 8148 to 8167, 8339 to 8358, 8375 to 8395, 8531 to 8558, 8569 to 8590, 8621 to 8640, 8649 to 8717, 8748 to 8767, 8783 to 8806, 8828 to 8849, 9123 to 9142, 9205 to 9245, 9336 to 9351, 9534 to 9570, 9576 to 9595, 9923 to 9938, 10001 to 10016, 10056 to 10071, 10274 to 10293, 10297 to 10344, 10352 to 10371, 10393 to 10437, 10493 to 10520, 10530 to 10549, 10613 to 10632, 10688 to 10711, 10754 to 10800, 10840 to 10865, 12508 to 12680, 12723 to 12738, 13454 to 13518, 13553 to 13591, 13687 to 13727, 13783 to 13804, 13806 to 13821, 13883 to 13901, and 13931 to 13946 of nucleobases of SEQ ID NO: 2, or complementary to a part in a nucleobase sequence selected from the group consisting of nucleobase sequences represented by position number 4320 to 4390 and 12508 to 12680 of nucleobases of SEQ ID NO: 2, wherein the modified oligonucleotide is at least 80% complementary to the part in the selected nucleobase sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, or a pharmacologically acceptable salt thereof. NOTE: In Applicant’s Election filed February 5, 2026, Applicants elected the species of the position number 4320 to 4390 of the nucleobases of SEQ ID NO:2.
CRISPR Therapeutics AG is relied upon in its entirety. CRISPR Therapeutics AG teach single-molecule guide RNA (sgRNA) which comprise a spacer sequence that is complementary to a sequence within or near the expanded trinucleotide repeat in the ATXN2 gene. See Abstract.
Regarding claims 6, 8, 30 and 34, CRISPR Therapeutics AG teach a particular sgRNA spacer sequence comprising a modified oligonucleotide which consists of 8 to 80 nucleosides complementary to a part in a nucleobase sequence represented by position number 4320 to 4390 of nucleobases of SEQ ID NO: 2, wherein the modified oligonucleotide is at least 80% complementary to the part in the selected nucleobase of SEQ ID NO:2 of the present invention. See CRISPR Therapeutics AG, SEQ ID:98751. Also, see sequence alignment below:
PNG
media_image1.png
962
574
media_image1.png
Greyscale
NOTE: SEQ ID:98751 of CRISPR Therapeutics AG is at least 94% complementary to position number 4320 to 4390 of nucleobases of SEQ ID NO: 2 of the present invention.
CRISPR Therapeutics AG teach the sgRNA spacer compounds of their invention comprise modifications that enhance stability and make the oligonucleotide more resistant to nuclease digestion. See page 37, for example.
Regarding 12, the claim recites, “comprising a modified oligonucleotide which consists of 12 to 80 nucleosides and has a nucleobase sequence including any one of nucleobase sequences selected from the group consisting of”… SEQ ID NO: 586 of the present invention. The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI) using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the Specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. See MPEP 2111. Interpreted broadly, the claim only requires a single nucleobase sequence of SEQ ID NO: 586. SEQ ID:98751 of CRISPR Therapeutics AG comprises a modified oligonucleotide which consists of 12 to 80 nucleosides and has a single nucleobase sequence of SEQ ID NO: 586 of the present invention.
Regarding claims 15 and 19-21, CRISPR Therapeutics AG teach the sgRNA spacer compounds of their invention comprise modifications that enhance stability and make the oligonucleotide more resistant to nuclease digestion, such as and including phosphorothioate modified backbone; 2'-O-methyl modifications or 5-methylcytosine. See pages 37 and 40, for example.
Regarding claims 32 and 33, CRISPR Therapeutics AG teach the sgRNA spacer compounds of their invention comprise two or more sgRNAs. See pages 14-15. NOTE: The Examiner is interpreting the first sgRNA to comprise SEQ ID:98751 of CRISPR Therapeutics AG and the second sgRNA as the prodrug moiety or functional molecule.
Regarding claims 36-39, CRISPR Therapeutics AG teach the sgRNA spacer compounds of their invention are active ingredients or medicinal drugs used for treating Dentatorubral-Pallidoluysian Atrophy. See pages 72-73.
Modified oligonucleotides complementary to a transcript of Atrophin1 (ATN1) were known in the art at the time of filing. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, a compound comprising a modified oligonucleotide which consists of 8 to 80 nucleosides complementary to a part in a nucleobase sequence represented by position number 4320 to 4390 of SEQ ID NO: 2, wherein the modified oligonucleotide is at least 80% complementary to the part in the selected nucleobase sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 of the present invention was known and routinely used in the art as taught and suggested by CRISPR Therapeutics AG.
A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to chemically modify the sgRNA spacer compound of CRISPR Therapeutics AG to improve nuclease resistance and stability of the oligonucleotide.
A person of ordinary skill in the art would have expected reasonable success to devise the modified compound as instantly claimed using the disclosures of CRISPR Therapeutics AG as an exact blueprint for making chemically modified compounds for inhibiting target gene expression in a cell or in a subject.
Therefore, the subject matter of claims 6, 8, 12, 15, 19-21, 30, 32-34 and 36-39 is obvious over CRISPR Therapeutics AG.
******
Claims 6, 8, 12 and 15-39 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2012135736 A2 to Isis Pharmaceuticals in view of Masaki et al. (NUCLEIC ACID THERAPEUTICS, 2018 Vol. 28: 307-311).
The claims are as described above.
Isis Pharmaceuticals is relied upon in its entirety. Isis Pharmaceuticals teach antisense compounds for decreasing STAT3 mRNA expression. See Abstract.
Regarding claims 6, 8, 30 and 34, Isis Pharmaceuticals teach a particular antisense compound comprising a modified oligonucleotide which consists of 8 to 80 nucleosides complementary to a part in a nucleobase sequence represented by position number 4320 to 4390 of nucleobases of SEQ ID NO: 2, wherein the modified oligonucleotide is at least 80% complementary to the part in the selected nucleobase of SEQ ID NO:2 of the present invention. See Isis Pharmaceuticals, SEQ 2644. Also, see sequence alignment below:
PNG
media_image2.png
482
564
media_image2.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image3.png
990
578
media_image3.png
Greyscale
NOTE: SEQ 2644 of Isis Pharmaceuticals is at least 85% complementary to position number 4320 to 4390 of nucleobases of SEQ ID NO: 2 of the present invention.
Isis Pharmaceuticals teach the antisense compounds of their invention comprise modifications that increase stability in the presence of nucleases, or increase inhibitory activity. See page 31.
Regarding 12, the claim recites, “comprising a modified oligonucleotide which consists of 12 to 80 nucleosides and has a nucleobase sequence including any one of nucleobase sequences selected from the group consisting of”… SEQ ID NO: 586 of the present invention. The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI) using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the Specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. See MPEP 2111. Interpreted broadly, the claim only requires a single nucleobase sequence of SEQ ID NO: 586. SEQ 2644 of Isis Pharmaceuticals comprises a modified oligonucleotide which consists of 12 to 80 nucleosides and has a single nucleobase sequence of SEQ ID NO: 586 of the present invention.
Regarding claims 15 and 19-21, Isis Pharmaceuticals teach the antisense compounds of their invention comprise modifications that enhance stability and make the oligonucleotide more resistant to nuclease digestion, such as and including phosphorothioate modified backbone; 2'-O-methyl modifications (2'-O-MOE nucleosides) or 5-methylcytosine. See page 78, for example.
Regarding claims 16-18, Isis Pharmaceuticals teach the antisense compounds of their invention comprise modifications that enhance stability and make the oligonucleotide more resistant to nuclease digestion, such as 2’-4’-bridged nucleosides (e.g. LNA, ENA, and cEt). See pages 32-33.
Regarding claims 22-29, Isis Pharmaceuticals teach the antisense compounds of their invention comprise gapmers comprising a gap segment, a 5' wing segment, and a 3' wing segment. Isis Pharmaceuticals teach LNA or 2'-O-MOE nucleoside modifications in the wings arranged in patterns. See Isis Pharmaceuticals Tables 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 52 and 53 for example. Isis Pharmaceuticals also teach the internucleoside linkages throughout each gapmer are phosphorothioate.
Isis Pharmaceuticals teach 2'-O-MOE nucleoside modifications, but do not teach 2′-O-MCE nucleoside modifications.
Masaki et a. teach 2′-O-MCE modifications could be used as an alternative to 2'-O-MOE modifications.
Regarding claims 32 and 33, Isis Pharmaceuticals teach the antisense compounds of their invention comprise prodrugs or functional molecules. See page 41.
Regarding claims 36-39, Isis Pharmaceuticals teach the antisense compounds of their invention are active ingredients or medicinal drugs used for treating diseases or disorders. See page 4. While Isis Pharmaceuticals does not necessarily teach the disease or disorder is Dentatorubral-Pallidoluysian Atrophy, such is nothing more than an intended use. Applicant is reminded that the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim. In the instant case, the antisense compound comprising a modified oligonucleotide which consists of 8 to 80 nucleosides complementary to a part in a nucleobase sequence represented by position number 4320 to 4390 of nucleobases of SEQ ID NO: 2, wherein the modified oligonucleotide is at least 80% complementary to the part in the selected nucleobase of SEQ ID NO:2 of the present invention of Isis Pharmaceuticals meets the functionality reported in the present application, absent some evidence to the contrary.
Modified oligonucleotides complementary to a transcript of Atrophin1 (ATN1) were known in the art at the time of filing. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, a compound comprising a modified oligonucleotide which consists of 8 to 80 nucleosides complementary to a part in a nucleobase sequence represented by position number 4320 to 4390 of SEQ ID NO: 2, wherein the modified oligonucleotide is at least 80% complementary to the part in the selected nucleobase sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 of the present invention was known and routinely used in the art as taught and suggested by Isis Pharmaceuticals.
A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to chemically modify the antisense compound of Isis Pharmaceuticals to improve nuclease resistance and stability of the oligonucleotide compound.
A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to substitute the 2'-O-MOE nucleoside modification of Isis Pharmaceuticals with the 2′-O-MCE nucleoside modification of Masaki et al. since they are functional equivalents of each other, and it is obvious to substitute one functional equivalent for another, particularly when they are to be used for the same purpose. See MPEP 2144.06.
A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated and expected reasonable success to have the antisense compounds of Isis Pharmaceuticals comprise the chemically modified patterns recited in present claims 28 and 29 since such is a design choice, and rely on the well-known prior art teachings of Isis Pharmaceuticals at Tables 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 52 and 53 to arrive at a particular modification pattern. That is, one of ordinary skill in the art could determine by routine experimentation the types and patterns of modified nucleosides to incorporate into an antisense compound to confer a desired property or optimization for a specific utility.
A person of ordinary skill in the art would have expected reasonable success to devise the modified compound as instantly claimed using the disclosures of Isis Pharmaceuticals as an exact blueprint for making chemically modified compounds for inhibiting target gene expression in a cell or in a subject.
Therefore, the subject matter of claims 6, 8, 12 and 15-39 is obvious over Isis Pharmaceuticals.
******
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent No. 11369692 B2.
The claim is as described above. NOTE: In Applicant’s Election filed February 5, 2026, Applicants elected the species of a compound comprising a modified oligonucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 586.
U.S. Patent No. 11369692 teach guide ribonucleic acids (gRNAs) of sgRNAs for editing a dystrophin gene in a cell from a patient with DMD. The one or more gRNAs and/or sgRNAs can comprise a spacer sequence.
U.S. Patent No. 11369692 teach a particular sgRNA, Sequence 116228 which comprises a modified oligonucleotide which consists of 8 to 80 nucleosides and has a nucleobase sequence including at least 8 contiguous nucleobases of SEQ ID NO: 586 of the present invention. See U.S. Patent No. 11369692, Sequence 116228. Also, see sequence alignment below:
PNG
media_image4.png
488
570
media_image4.png
Greyscale
U.S. Patent No. 11369692 teach the sgRNA compounds of their invention comprise modifications that increase stability in the presence of nucleases, or increase inhibitory activity.
Modified oligonucleotides complementary to a transcript of Atrophin1 (ATN1) were known in the art at the time of filing. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, a modified oligonucleotide which consists of 8 to 80 nucleosides and has a nucleobase sequence including at least 8 contiguous nucleobases of SEQ ID NO: 586 of the present invention was known and routinely used in the art as taught and suggested by U.S. Patent No. 11369692.
A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to modify the sgRNA compounds of U.S. Patent No. 11369692 to improve nuclease resistance and stability of the oligonucleotide compound.
A person of ordinary skill in the art would have expected reasonable success to devise the modified compound as instantly claimed using the disclosures of U.S. Patent No. 11369692 as an exact blueprint for making chemically modified compounds for inhibiting target gene expression in a cell or in a subject.
Therefore, the subject matter of claim 10 is obvious over U.S. Patent No. 11369692.
Markush Rejection
Claims 6, 8, 10, 12 and 15-39 are rejected on the judicially-created basis that it contains an improper Markush grouping of alternatives. See In re Harnisch, 631 F.2d 716, 721-22 (CCPA 1980) and Ex parte Hozumi, 3 USPQ2d 1059, 1060 (Bd. Pat. App. & Int. 1984). The improper Markush grouping includes species of the claimed invention that do not share both a substantial structural feature and a common use that flows from the substantial structural feature. The members of the improper Markush grouping do not share a substantial feature and/or a common use that flows from the substantial structural feature for the following reasons: The claims are directed to a multitude of compounds (e.g. sequences) with no common searchable core. The dozens of nucleotide sequences have no common structure other than being nucleic acid sequences. The specific activity of each compound is dependent upon the specific sequence of nucleotides. For example, see Tables reporting “percent expression of ATN1 relative to untreated control cells” in the present Specification.
Furthermore, the Markush groupings of the sequences and SEQ ID NOs listed in claims 6, 8, 10 and 12 are improper because the alternatives defined by the Markush grouping do not share both a single structural similarity and a common use for the following reasons: Each of the sequences and SEQ ID NOs is different and targets a different region of the ATN1 mRNA. See Tables reciting, “SEQ1 START and SEQ1 END” and “SEQ2 START and SEQ2 END”. Each sequence has its own structure based on its sequence, so while they share a common use, the alternatives do not share a common structure.
In response to this rejection, Applicant should either amend the claim(s) to recite only individual species or grouping of species that share a substantial structural feature as well as a common use that flows from the substantial structural feature, or present a sufficient showing that the species recited in the alternative of the claims(s) in fact share a substantial structural feature as well as a common use that flows from the substantial structural feature. This is a rejection on the merits and may be appealed to the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 134 and 37 CFR 41.31(a)(1).
When the Markush grouping is for alternatives of chemical compounds, they shall be regarded as being of a similar nature where the following criteria are fulfilled:
(A) All alternatives have a common property or activity; and
(B) (1) A common structure is present, i.e., a significant structural element is shared by all of the alternatives; or
(B) (2) In cases where the common structure cannot be the unifying criteria, all alternatives belong to a recognized class of chemical compounds in the art to which the invention pertains.
In paragraph (B)(1), above, the words “significant structural element is shared by all of the alternatives” refer to cases where the compounds share a common chemical structure which occupies a large portion of their structures, or in case the compounds have in common only a small portion of their structures, the commonly shared structure constitutes a structurally distinctive portion in view of existing prior art, and the common structure is essential to the common property or activity. The structural element may be a single component or a combination of individual components linked together.
In paragraph (B)(2), above, the words “recognized class of chemical compounds” mean that there is an expectation from the knowledge in the art that members of the class will behave in the same way in the context of the claimed invention. In other words, each member could be substituted one for the other, with the expectation that the same intended result would be achieved.
In order for the members of the Markush group to belong to “recognized class of chemical compounds” there must be an expectation that the members of the class will behave in the same way in the context of the claimed invention. In other words, each member of the class could be substituted one for the other with the expectation that the same intended result would be achieved. In the instant case, activity of any specific compound is dependent upon the specific sequence of nucleotides. For example, see Tables reporting “percent expression of ATN1 relative to untreated control cells” in the present Specification. There is no expectation that any one of the nucleotide sequences as claimed can be substituted for any of the other with a completely different sequence with the expectation of the same activity.
The patent office does not have the resources to search dozens of sequences in one application and perform the corresponding examination.
See 37 CFR 1.141(a),
The examination guidelines determined that “up to ten sequences” are reasonable depending upon the circumstances. Each of the instant sequences are structurally unique, each comprising a distinct sequence of nucleotides, each having no common structural core. To search for more than ten of the sequences in the same application would present an undue search and corresponding examination burden. Furthermore, see Examination of Patents with Nucleotide Sequences - OG Date: 27 March 2007, wherein the document explains the rescission of the 1996 Notice that allowed up to ten independent and distinct sequences for search and examination in an application.
Conclusion
No claims are allowable at this time.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to Terra C. Gibbs whose telephone number is 571-272-0758. The Examiner can normally be reached from 8 am - 5 pm M-F.
If attempts to reach the Examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner's supervisor, Ram Shukla can be reached on 571-272-0735. 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.
Patent applicants with problems or questions regarding electronic images that can be viewed in the Patent Application Information Retrieval system (PAIR) can now contact the USPTO's Patent Electronic Business Center (Patent EBC) for assistance. Representatives are available to answer your questions daily from 6 am to midnight (EST). The toll free number is (866) 217-9197. When calling please have your application serial or patent number, the type of document you are having an image problem with, the number of pages and the specific nature of the problem. The Patent Electronic Business Center will notify applicants of the resolution of the problem within 5-7 business days. Applicants can also check PAIR to confirm that the problem has been corrected. The USPTO's Patent Electronic Business Center is a complete service center supporting all patent business on the Internet. The USPTO's PAIR system provides Internet-based access to patent application status and history information. It also enables applicants to view the scanned images of their own application file folder(s) as well as general patent information available to the public.
For all other customer support, please call the USPTO Call Center (UCC) at 800-786-9199.
/TERRA C GIBBS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1635