Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/043,389

PESTICIDALLY ACTIVE HETEROCYCLIC DERIVATIVES WITH SULFUR CONTAINING SUBSTITUENTS

Final Rejection §112
Filed
Feb 28, 2023
Examiner
ROMERO, KRISTEN WANG
Art Unit
1624
Tech Center
1600 — Biotechnology & Organic Chemistry
Assignee
Syngenta Crop Protection AG
OA Round
2 (Final)
88%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
3y 6m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 88% — above average
88%
Career Allow Rate
15 granted / 17 resolved
+28.2% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+12.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 6m
Avg Prosecution
42 currently pending
Career history
59
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
6.0%
-34.0% vs TC avg
§103
18.2%
-21.8% vs TC avg
§102
20.4%
-19.6% vs TC avg
§112
38.9%
-1.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 17 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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 . Status of the Claims Claims 1-21 are pending. Status of Priority The present application is a 35 U.S.C. § 371 national stage patent application of International patent application PCT/EP2021/073993, filed on August 31, 2021. This application also claims the benefits of foreign priority to IN202011037485, filed on August 31, 2020. Withdrawn Rejections Applicant is notified that any outstanding rejection or objection that is not expressly maintained in this office action has been withdrawn or rendered moot in view of applicant’s amendments and/or remarks. Claim Objections Claim 6 is objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 6 discloses the structure of general formula (I-E) and on the last line of claim 6 it states: “…a compound of formula I-E.” Thus, in claim 6: “A compound of formula I according to claim 1, represented by a compound of formula I-E1” should read“A compound of formula I according to claim 1, represented by a compound of formula I-E” Appropriate correction is required. Rejections necessitated by the amended claims Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(d) The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d): (d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers. The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph: Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers. Claim 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Claim 21 recites: “A compound of formula XIX according to claim 18, selected from the group consisting of…(compound I-10)… (compound I-15)… (compound I-17)… (compound I-19)… (compound I-23)… (compound I-25)… (compound I-27)… (compound I-30)… (compound I-32)… (compound I-33)… (compound I-35)… (compound I-37)…(compound I-39).” A compound of formula XIX according to claim 18 has the following general structure: PNG media_image1.png 224 263 media_image1.png Greyscale , however, compounds I-10, I-15, I-17, I-19, I-23, I-25, I-27, I-30, I-32, I-33, I-37, and I-39 have the following general structure: PNG media_image2.png 162 220 media_image2.png Greyscale and compound I-35 has the following general structure: PNG media_image3.png 164 180 media_image3.png Greyscale . In other words, not all compounds listed in claim 21 are compounds of formula XIX and, therefore, claim 21 fails to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends (i.e., claim 21 broadens the scope of claim 18). Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements Allowable Subject Matter Claim 6 is currently objected to but would be allowable once appropriate corrections are made. Claims 1-5 and 7-20 are allowed. Conclusion Claims 1-5 and 7-20 are allowed. Claim 6 is objected to. Claim 21 is rejected. 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 KRISTEN ROMERO whose telephone number is (571)272-6478. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30 AM - 6:00 PM ET. 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, JEFFREY H. MURRAY can be reached at (571) 272-9023. 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. /KRISTEN W ROMERO/Examiner, Art Unit 1624 /JEFFREY H MURRAY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1624
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Feb 28, 2023
Application Filed
Nov 13, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §112
Feb 17, 2026
Response Filed
Mar 12, 2026
Final Rejection — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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PLANT DISEASE CONTROL COMPOSITION AND PLANT DISEASE CONTROL METHOD
2y 5m to grant Granted Jan 13, 2026
Patent 12490760
COMPOUND AND FLAVOR-IMPARTING COMPOSITION USING SAME
2y 5m to grant Granted Dec 09, 2025
Patent 12465565
Pharmaceutical Compositions of Raltegravir
2y 5m to grant Granted Nov 11, 2025
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 3 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
88%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+12.5%)
3y 6m
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 17 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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