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 .
Claims 1-6, 13, and 15-16 are pending and examined on the merits, after amendments.
Applicant’s response (amendments, arguments, IDS) is acknowledged.
Any rejection no longer of record has been overcome by amendment/argument.
See also Interview Summary attached.
The examiner remains open to further interview to advance prosecution on the merits.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101 - Maintained
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1 remains rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception without significantly more. The claim(s) recite(s) a peptide. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because Stymme et al. (U.S. Publication No. 20040073973) teach naturally occurring peptide SEQ ID NO: 2, comprising the instantly claimed peptide at residues 39-48 thereto, as it naturally occurs in nature without something more (note the filler of claims 11-13 may be naturally occurring equally as no substantive element is claimed):
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Response to Amendment/Arguments
The structure of the amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO: 1 remains the same as that found naturally occurring, whether comprising such or consisting of such, whether found in nature, manufactured, or isolated. The amendments to consisting of and isolated do not alter that fate, without something more (e.g. amending claims 2 into claim 1, where something more has been added thereto beyond how such exists structurally in nature).
Claim Objections
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities depending from a rejected base claim to which it depends (MPEP 608.01(n)). Appropriate correction is required.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-6, 13, and 15-16 were not found to be reasonably taught or suggested, as a peptide consisting of peptide SEQ ID NO: 1 is not found reasonably taught or suggested by the prior art of record (notwithstanding the 35 USC 101 rejection thereon, as a product of nature). Thus, these claims would be in condition for allowance pending the resolution of the remaining rejections of record.
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 MAURY AUDET whose telephone number is (571)272-0960. The examiner can normally be reached on M-Th. 7AM-5:30PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Lianko Garyu can be reached on 571-270-7367. 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).
/MAURY A AUDET/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1654
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