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 .
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 16-29 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.
In claim 16, it is indefinite as to whether the N-heterocyclic compound can be a compound of the general formula (III) or (IV) as recited in claim 16, since compounds (III) and (IV) are inconsistent with compounds (a)and (b) due to the additional double bonds in the ring.
Claims 17-29 are also rejected, since they depend from claim 16 but fail to overcome the objection to claim 16.
In claims 16 and 24, the recitation of “preferably” renders the scope of the claims vague and indefinite, since it is not clear whether the limitations following the word “ preferably” are positively recited, or whether they are merely examples of the broader genu.
Claim 20 is rejected as being inconsistent with claim 16, since many of the compounds recited in claim 20 do not include an endocyclic oxygen atom and an exocyclic sulfur atom as do compounds (a) and (b) of claim 16. For example, six of the seven compounds depicted on page 7 of the amendment of March 14, 2026 do not include an endocyclic oxygen atom, and three of the compounds do not include any oxygen atom.
Allowable Subject Matter
This application apparently discloses allowable subject matter (i.e., regarding claims 16-19 and 21-29.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter the Declaration of Hans Motte, M.Sc., PhD, filed on March 14, 2026 discloses in Section II on page 4 that the claims have been amendment to include 1, 3-thiazolidin-2-one (TAO) and 3H-1,3-thiazol-2-one (“unTAO”), and depicts the corresponding general formula. However these formulae include an exocyclic oxygen atom and endocyclic sulfur atom, rather than an endocyclic oxygen atom and exocyclic sulfur atom, as required by formulae (a) and (a) in applicant’s claim 16. The Declaration also states in Section IV on page 5 that applicant’s compounds possess an exocyclic oxygen atom double-bonded to the C2 position (a ketone group) and that WO 2020/020765 A1 discloses a thiazolidine-2-thione core structure featuring an exocyclic sulfur atom double-bonded to the C2 position of the ring. However the rejection of claims 16-19 and 21-29 over WO 2020/020765 A is nonetheless withdrawn, since compound (1) on page 2 of WO 2020/020765 A does not include an endocyclic oxygen atom, as required by the compounds recited in applicant’s claims Nor would there be any motivation from the prior art to substitute an encyclic oxygen atom for the encyclic sulfur atom in the compound of WO 2020/020765 A.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WAYNE A LANGEL whose telephone number is (571) 272-1353. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday from 8:15 am to 4:15 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anthony Zimmer can be reached at 571-270-3591. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WAYNE A LANGEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1736
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