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 .
Response to AmendmentArguments
Predicated on an inadvertent indication of allowable subject matter in claim 12, where claim 13 had clearly been intended insofar as (i) claim 12 was identified as containing allowable subject matter but dependent from a rejected claim two lines after an explanation of its unpatentability was given on page 3 of the 10/23/25 Office communication, (ii) the PTO-326 form indicates the proper claim, claim 13, as being objected to and (iii) the reasons given for holding the claim 12 as objected to, not rejected, pertain entirely to the subject matter of claim 13.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
(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.
Claims 12, 14-15, and 18-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chen, CN 101787244 for the reasons outlined previously with the exception that that examiner had characterized the composition to which the anticipatory compound had been added as a coating when, in fact, [0065-0066] summarize the makeup of an adhesive.
Claims 18-26 mirror exactly the subject matter of cancelled claims 2 to 8, 16, and 17 respectively, all of which had been earlier deemed to disclose unpatentable subject matter.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 13 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 for the reasons outlined previously. As an aside, it would be unusual to provide water as a component of a kit, unless perhaps the water was required to be of a purity not readily available.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARC S ZIMMER whose telephone number is (571)272-1096. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5:00.
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, Heidi Kelley can be reached at 571-270-1831. 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.
February 24, 2026
/MARC S ZIMMER/Acting Patent Examiner of Art Unit 1765