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
The claims filed 16January2026 are acknowledged and have been fully considered. Claim 17 is cancelled. Claim 21 is new. Claims 1-16, 18-21 are pending and examined on the merits herein. Claims 1, 4-5, 7, 12, 16, 18, 20 are currently amended and claims 2-3, 6, 8-11, 13-15, 19 are original.
Priority
There is no priority claim of record. Claims 1-16, 18-21 maintain, and claim 21 has, an effective filing date that is the same as the actual filing date of this non-provisional application: 10February2023.
Withdrawn Objections and/or Rejections
Objections and/or rejections made of record in the nonfinal office action dated 16October2025 that are not otherwise discussed herein are withdrawn. In particular:
RE ¶ 4: The objection to the specification is withdrawn in view of the amendments thereto;
RE ¶¶ 6-10: The objections to the claims are withdrawn in view of the amendments to the claims;
RE ¶¶ 11, 13-14: The indefiniteness rejections are withdrawn in view of the amendments to the claims;
RE ¶ 15: The Written Description rejection of claim 17 is withdrawn in view of the claim amendments (claim 17 is now cancelled);
RE ¶ 16: The Written Description rejection of claims 18-20 is withdrawn in view of the claim amendments;
and
RE ¶ 17: The provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection over Appl. No. 18167364 (now US Pat. No. 12465008) is withdrawn in view of the Terminal Disclaimer filed 16January2026 (approved 30January2026).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 - Indefiniteness
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 and 20 REMAIN 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.
These claims recite a “commodity plant product”, but that term has neither a well-recognized meaning within the prior art nor a limiting definition in the specification. The one time it is recited in the specification is at ¶184 on page 55. Without more information from Applicant, it is not clear what is within, or outside of, the term “commodity plant product” (does a seed qualify? Does any plant part qualify?). This issue is compounded by the fact that claims 18 and 20 say that the “commodity plant product” comprises a cell while the one mention of “commodity plant product” in the specification (¶184 on page 55) suggests that a “commodity plant product” is a protein concentrate, protein isolate, soybean hulls, meal, flour, or oil—products that do not contain cells.
Response to Applicant’s Remarks:
Applicant traverses this rejection and asserts that, in any event, the amendments to the claims render it moot.
This is not persuasive. Please amend claims 16 and 20 to provide a clear, limited definition of “commodity plant product” such as adding to the claims that the “commodity plant product comprises protein concentrate, protein isolate, soybean hulls, meal, flour, or oil” (specification at ¶184 on page 55).
Conclusion
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 Rebecca STEPHENS whose telephone number is (571)272-0070. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday 8:30-4:30.
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, Amjad ABRAHAM can be reached at (571) 270-7058. 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.
/REBECCA STEPHENS/Examiner, Art Unit 1663
/MATTHEW R KEOGH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1663