DETAILED ACTION
This Office action is in response to Applicant’s amendment filed May 11, 2026. Claims 12-13 remain withdrawn from consideration. Applicant has amended claim 1. Claim 2 has been cancelled. Currently, claims 1 and 3-17 remain pending in the application.
The text of those sections of Title 35 U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in the prior Office action, Paper No. 20260310.
The rejection of claims 5-6 and 14-17 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, is maintained for the reasons of record.
The rejection of claims 1, 3-11 and 14-17 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Mussman et al, US 2016/0362633, is maintained for the reasons of record.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed May 11, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that instant claim 5 is not indefinite, since the instantly claimed method has the step of “using”. However, the examiner respectfully disagrees. Specifically, the examiner respectfully maintains that since the claim does not set forth any steps involved in the method, it is unclear what method applicant is intending to encompass. A claim is indefinite where it merely recites a use without any active, positive steps delimiting how this use is actually practiced. The examiner suggests that claim 5 should be amended to recite a positive step, such as “applying the cleaning composition to a surface” or “contacting a surface with the cleaning composition”.
Applicant further argues that Mussman et al, US 2016/0362633, does not teach or suggest in general a composition that contains a rinse surfactant of formula (II) or formula (III), as required by applicant in the instant claims. However, the examiner respectfully disagrees. Specifically, the examiner respectfully maintains that Mussman et al clearly discloses that their composition contains a second fatty alcohol of formula II, wherein R2 is an alkyl group having 10-16 carbon atoms, R3 is an alkyl group having 2-26 carbon atoms, AO is -CH2CH2-, and w is 10-30 (see paragraph 22), which meets rinse surfactant (III) of the instant claims when R7 is C10-16, x is 10-30, y is zero, R9 is hydrogen, and R8 is C10-20, per the requirements of the instant invention. Furthermore, the examiner asserts that applicant’s Examples I, II, IV and V in Tables 5, 6, 8 and 9 of the instant specification are not commensurate in scope with the instant claims, as required in MPEP 716.02(d), since the base mixture detergent and specific compounds (A.1), (A.2) and (B.1) in these Examples are not required in independent claim 1. Accordingly, the examiner asserts that applicant has not shown that the unexpected results occur over the entire claim range.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRIAN P MRUK whose telephone number is (571)272-1321. The examiner can normally be reached on 7:00am-5:30pm Monday-Thursday.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Angela Brown-Pettigrew, can be reached on 571-272-2817. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRIAN P MRUK/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1761
Brian P Mruk
June 29, 2026
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