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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 2/25/2026 has been entered.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: Many of the diagramed structures which are listed in Table 2 (which begins on page 27 of the specification) are functionally illegible due to the small typeface utilized and as well as pixilation.
The examiner respectfully suggest enlarging all diagramed structures such that they are clearly legible.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 6 and 16 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.
The name of the compound N-ethyl-3-phenyl-N-(3-(4-(3-phenylpropyl)phenyl)propyl)propan-1-amine (which is compound #22 of claim 6, and compound #26 of claim 16) appears to be incorrect – note that what is apparently the corresponding compound in Table 2 of the specification (compound #26 of Table 2) is, in fact, named as: N-ethyl-3-phenyl-N-(3-(4-(3-phenylpropoxy)phenyl)propyl)propan-1-amine. The name in Table 2 also (apparently, given the difficulty of reading the diagramed structures), appears to corresponding correctly to the accompanying diagramed structure.
Appropriate correction/clarification is in order.
Claims 11 and 23-27 are also 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.
The claims all depend, or ultimately depend, from an indefinite claim yet do not relieve the indefiniteness. Dependent claims 11 and 23-27 are also, therefore, indefinite.
102 Rejections Withdrawn
The rejection of claims 6, 23 and 26, in so far as they read on the species defined in the previous Office Action, under 35 USC 102(a)(1), outlined in the previous Office Action, has been overcome by inventor’s amendment. The amendment narrows the scope of the claim set such that it no longer reads on the cited art.
Markush Search
Inventor having overcome the outstanding art rejection, the search was therefore expanded as called for under Markush examination practice, a compound-by-compound search. This resulted in all remaining species being searched.
Allowable Subject Matter
The subject matter of claims 6, 11, 16 and 23-27 would be allowable once the 112 rejections outlined above have been overcome. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The key to the instant invention are the Markush sets of compounds of claims 6 and 16. The closest prior art remains the prior art of record. During the course of prosecution, inventor has narrowed the scope of the claimed invention such that it no longer reads on the cited art.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRIAN J DAVIS whose telephone number is (571)272-0638. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5:00 PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ali Soroush, can be reached at 571-272-9925. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRIAN J DAVIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1614 3/4/2026
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