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
Applicants’ response, dated 07/02/2026, is acknowledged. Claims 120, 127-128, 131 and 146 have been amended. Claim 155 has been added, no new matter was added. Claims 120-133, 136, 139, 145-146, 149, 152 and 155 are pending and are now evaluated on their merits.
Priority
This application claims foreign benefit to application EP20382320, dated 04/21/2020.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Page 1, filed 07/02/2026, with respect to the 112b rejection of claims 120-126, 129-130, 132-133, 136, 139, 145-146 and 152 have been fully considered and are persuasive by the amendment to claim 120 to clarify the limitations of X, T and Ab. The rejection of claims 120-126, 129-130, 132-133, 136, 139, 145-146 and 152 has been withdrawn.
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 120-133, 136, 145-146, 149, 152 and 155 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.
Regarding claim 120, the phrase "Rx" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear what the limitations are to Rx. The claim fails to recite the limitations of the substituent Rx. Ultimately the metes and bounds of the claim are unclear.
Regarding claim 31, the phrase "preferably" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitation(s) following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Claims 121-133, 136, 145-146, 149, 152 and 155 are rendered indefinite as depending from claim 120 thus carrying the limitation of Rx without further limiting.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 139 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MIKHAIL O'DONNEL ROBINSON whose telephone number is (571)270-0777. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30am-5:30pm.
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, Kortney Klinkel can be reached at 571-270-5239. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
MIKHAIL O'DONNEL. ROBINSON
Examiner
Art Unit 1627
/MIKHAIL O'DONNEL ROBINSON/Examiner, Art Unit 1627
/SARAH PIHONAK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1627
Prosecution Insights