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
This application claims benefit of priority to French Republic Application No. FR2007021 filed on 07/02/2020. This application is also a 371 of PCT/FR2021/051220 filed on 07/02/2021. Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The corrected Drawings filed 12/15/2025 are accepted by the Examiner.
Amendment and Claim Status
In the reply filed on 12/15/2025, Applicant amended claims 1, 12 and 17-19 and added new claim 22. Claims 1-16 and 18-21 were previously withdrawn by the Examiner as they are not encompassed by the elected group and species.
Claims 1-22 are pending.
Claims 1-16 and 18-21 are withdrawn.
Claims 17 and 22 are under examination.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 17 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. This is a new matter rejection.
Claim 17 has been amended to recite “a linear or branched glucoside part comprising n+m glycosyl units” in line 9 of the claim. Applicant indicated support for this limitation could be found throughout the Specification, and at least in original claims 1-20. The instant Specification does not recite the term ‘glycosyl unit’ at all nor do the original claims. The instant Specification and original claims only recite ‘glucosyl unit.’ A glycosyl unit is much broader in scope than a glucosyl unit as a glycosyl unit can be any sugar unit, such as glucose, fructose, mannose and many others, while a glucosyl unit specifically refers to glucose. There is not support for this much broader scope in the instant Specification or the original claims. This is new matter.
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 17 and 22 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 17, as amended, recites:
An alkyl polyglucoside obtained by the method of claim 1, wherein the alkyl polyglucoside is of formula (I):
[Glc]m-[Glc]n(-O-R) (I)
Wherein:
R represents a linear or branched, saturated or unsaturated alkyl group, comprising between 8 and 20 carbon atoms,
[Glc]m-[Glc]n represents a linear or branched glucoside part comprising n+m glycosyl units, n+m being between 3 and 200.
It is noted the claim is directed to an alkyl polyglucoside, meaning the sugar units are glucose molecules. As amended, claim 17 now recites the “glucoside part comprising n+m glycosyl units” in lines 7-8 above whereas claim 17 prior to amendment recited “glucoside part comprising n+m glucosyl units.” Applicant indicated the amendment was to correct minor/typographical errors. However, the use of glycosyl units significantly broadens the claim because glycosyl units can be any sugar molecule, such as glucose, fructose, mannose and many others. Thus, it is unclear how the alkyl polyglucoside can be composed of glycosyl units, which can be any sugar molecule, and still be considered an alkyl polyglucoside, meaning comprising glucose molecules. Moreover, formula (I) of claim 17 specifically recites [Glc]m-[Glc]n(-O-R), and the instant Specification states [Glc]m and [Glc]n represent glucoside fraction and correspond to the number of n or m glucosyl units (Page 7, Lines 30-34 – Page 8, Line 1). Thus, claim 17 is overall unclear. Claim 22 is included in this rejection as it is dependent upon claim 17 and does not clear up the indefiniteness.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 17 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CAS Registry Number: RN 122934-62-7. [Database Registry Chemical Abstracts Service, Columbus, Ohio, Accession No. RN 122934-62-7, Entered STN: 29 Sep 1989] (Of Record).
Regarding claim 17, it is noted the claim recites ‘comprising,’ which is open language and allows for incorporation of unclaimed or undisclosed constituents. Additionally, Applicant did not elect one particular alkyl polyglucoside, but rather, multiple components that ‘comprise’ the claimed alkyl polyglucoside. For example, Applicant elected R is octyl (corresponding to octyl-β-D-glucoside), and while this is an integral part of the compound, it is not present in the compound as octyl-β-D-glucoside because it is attached to other constituents. Therefore, while the alkyl polyglucoside must comprise the components elected by Applicant, it can also comprise additional constituents and still read on the alkyl polyglucoside as-claimed.
CAS Registry Number: RN 122934-62-7 reads on an alkyl polyglucoside wherein R is octyl (corresponding to octyl-β-D-glucoside), n=1, m=3 (n+m=4) and has 100% alpha 1,6 bonds. Thus, CAS Registry Number: RN 122934-62-7 anticipates instant claim 17. Structure included below.
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456
702
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110
662
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Regarding claim 22, it is noted claim 22 is only partially encompassed by the previous election of species. In the election of species, Applicant elected R = octyl (8), n = 1 and m = 2 to 7. Claim 22 recites “when R represents an alkyl group comprising 8 to 12 carbon atoms, n+m is between 7 and 200” in lines 1-2. According to the election of species, n+m = 3 to 8. Even such, compound RN 122934-62-7 has 7 glucosyl units (n+m = 7), falling within the range given by claim 22, and is therefore anticipated by RN 122934-62-7.
35 USC § 102 - Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/15/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argued CAS Registry Number: RN 122934-62-7 does not anticipate the instantly claimed alkyl polyglucoside because the IUPAC definition of glycosyl is ‘the structure obtained by removing the hydroxyl group from the hemiacetal function of a monosaccharide and, by extension, of a lower oligosaccharide’ on Page 13. Applicant also attached the definition quoted in the arguments. It is important to note the attached definition from IUPAC refers to a ‘glycosyl group’ while instant claim 17, as-amended, recites a ‘glycosyl unit.’ A ‘glycosyl group’ and a ‘glycosyl unit’ are not the same thing. A ‘glycosyl group’ is a specific chemical group while a ‘glycosyl unit’ is the sugar molecule itself. This is made clear by the description of glycosides given by IUPAC which specifically states “the bond between the glycosyl group and the OR group is called a glycosidic bond” (IUPAC, 1995). Thus, it is clear the definition of a ‘glycosyl group’ provided by Applicant is referring to a specific chemical group that forms a bond between another chemical group, not the sugar molecule as a whole. One of ordinary skill in the art, when looking at RN 122934-62-7, would very clearly recognize the compound as an alkyl polyglucoside as it has a chain of glucose molecules attached to an alkyl group. It is acknowledged that the alkyl polyglucoside represented by RN 122934-62-7 is a substituted alkyl polyglucoside, however, there is nothing within the claim suggesting the compound cannot be substituted. Therefore, the Examiner maintains the position that RN 122934-62-7 anticipates instant claims 17 and 22.
Conclusion
Claims 17 and 22 are rejected.
No claims are allowed.
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.
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/A.T.W./Examiner, Art Unit 1653
/SHARMILA G LANDAU/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1653