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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-5 in the reply filed on 01/05/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 6-10 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected group, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 04/28/2023 and 12/30/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the Examiner.
Claims Status
Claims 1-10 are pending with claims 1-5 being examined and claims 6-10 deemed withdrawn.
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Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yamagata (JPH 08201382 A; see English translation; hereinafter “Yamagata” previous of record).
Regarding claim 1, Yamagata teaches a reagent for preserving a urine specimen, comprising a filter paper (Yamagata; Abstract), wherein the filter paper comprises an aromatic alcohol, a phenol derivative, or a polyhydric fatty alcohol (Yamagata; [0009]).
Regarding claim 2, Yamagata teaches the reagent according to claim 1 (see above), wherein the content of the aromatic alcohol, phenol derivative, or polyhydric fatty alcohol in the filter paper is 0.5 to 100 mg per mL of a urine specimen to be applied (Yamagata; [0009] “phenol”).
Regarding claim 3, Yamagata teaches the reagent for preserving a urine specimen according to claim 1 (see above), wherein the filter paper comprises phenoxyethanol (Yamagata; [0009] teaches “the antibacterial agent to be contained in the filter can be any agent that has antibacterial affect”). Phenoxyethanol is known in the art to have antibacterial effect (Drugbank.com), therefore Yamagata meets the limitation.
Regarding claim 4, Yamagata teaches the reagent according to claim 3 (see above), wherein the content of phenoxyethanol in the filter paper is 1.0 to 50 mg per mL of a urine specimen to be applied (Yamagata; [0009] teaches the antibacterial agent to be contained in the filter can be any agent that has antibacterial affect (see claim 3 above)). Yamagata [0009] also teaches 0.01 to 10% by weight of the antibacterial agent can be applied to the filter paper.
Phenoxyethanol has a molecular weight of 138.16g/mol.
Applicant discloses using 20-500 µL of urine, therefore: 138.16g/mol x 0.01g/mol = 13.86g/mol which is within the claimed content.
Regarding claim 5, as mentioned above, Yamagata teaches the reagent according to claim 1 (see above). This claim merely recites an intended use of the claimed invention. The reagent of Yamagata is fully capable of preserving various urine specimens, including the claimed urine specimen, since Yamagata discloses every necessary component. Thus, Yamagata meets the limitations of the claim. See MPEP 2114.
Conclusion
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/A.R./Examiner, Art Unit 1798
/CHARLES CAPOZZI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1798