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 .
Priority
The instant application, filed 08/26/2022, is a national stage entry of PCT/US2021/019602, filed 02/25/2021, which claims domestic priority to U.S. provisional application 62/983,330, filed 02/28/2020.
Amendments and Claim Status
The following amendment filed on 12/18/2026 is acknowledged and entered.
Claims 1, 9, 23, 24, 36, 38, 45, 47, 51-54, 56, 58, 68, 70, 71, 73, and 75 are amended;
Claims 2-8, 10-22, 25-35, 37, 39-44, 46, 48-50, 55, 57, 59-67, 69, 72, 74 and 76-82 are cancelled;
Claims 1, 9, 23, 24, 36, 38, 45, 47, 51-54, 56, 58, 68, 70, 71, 73, and 75 are pending;
Claims 58, 68, 70, 71, 73, and 75 remain withdrawn according to 37 CFR § 1.142(b), as being drawn to a non-elected invention and species;
Claims 1, 9, 23, 24, 36, 38, 45, 47, 51-54, and 56 read on an elected species and invention and are examined on the merits as such.
Information Disclosure Statement
An Information Disclosure Statement has not been submitted.
Response to arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed 12/18/2025 with respect to the claim objections and claim rejections under 35 U.S.C. §§ 112(a) and 103 have been fully considered.
With respect to the objection to claims 51-54, claim amendments are insufficient to overcome the objection. As such, the objection is maintained.
With respect to the rejection of claims 1, 2, 8, 9, 23-25, 36, 38, 45, 47 and 82 under 35 U.S.C. § 112 (a) as failing to comply with the written description requirement, the cancellation of claims 2, 8, 25, and 82 are sufficient to render the rejection against said claims moot. Furthermore, the amendment to independent claim 1 is sufficient to overcome the rejection. As such, the rejection is hereby withdrawn.
With respect to the rejection of claims 1, 56, 57, and 82 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Cumming et al. (WO 2001027089 A1, published April 19, 2001, cited in applicant IDS dated 11/23/2022), hereinafter Cumming in view of Patani et al., (Chem Rev (1996) 96, pg. 3147-3176, published December 19, 1996), hereinafter Patani, the cancellation of claims 57 and 82 are sufficient to render the rejection against said claims moot. Furthermore, the amendment to independent claim 1 is sufficient to overcome the rejection. As such, the rejection is hereby withdrawn.
With respect to the amendment of claim 1, Applicant has stricken the definition of m and n from the claim and from the claim set altogether, which has rendered the claim indefinite. A new rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) is included hereinafter.
Claim Objections
Claims 51-54 are objected to for depending on a rejected claim (claim 1).
Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. § 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 1, 9, 23, 24, 36, 38, 45, 47, and 56 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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being incomplete for omitting essential elements, such omission amounting to a gap between the elements. See MPEP § 2172.01. The omitted elements are: m and n, which define the number of substituents of R2 and R3, respectively.
Regarding claims 9, 23, 24, 36, 38, 45, 47, and 56, the claims depend on a claim rejected as being indefinite (claim 1) and fail to remedy the indefiniteness of the claim on which it depends, and is therefore dually rejected as indefinite.
Conclusion
No claims are allowed.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new grounds 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Sophia P. Hirakis whose telephone number is +1 (571) 272-0118. The examiner can normally be reached within the hours of 5:00 am to 5:00pm EST, Monday through Friday.
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, Adam C. Milligan can be reached on +1 (571) 270-7674. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is +1 (571) 273-8300.
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/SOPHIA P HIRAKIS/Examiner, Art Unit 1623
/KARA R. MCMILLIAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1623