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 .
All previous claim rejections as indicated in the Office action dated January 23, 2026 have been withdrawn in view of the claim amendments made to claim 1, which requires “a guava leaf extract, a luffa cylindrica extract, and a water lily flower extract” present in the cosmetic composition.
A new rejection has been made to address the amended claims.
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 1-4, 6 and 7 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.
A broad range or limitation together with a narrow range or limitation that falls within the broad range or limitation (in the same claim) may be considered indefinite if the resulting claim does not clearly set forth the metes and bounds of the patent protection desired. See MPEP § 2173.05(c). In the present instance, claims 1, 4 and 7 recite the broad recitation “a guava extract”, which is inclusive of extracts from all or any parts of the plant. And the claim also recites “a guava leaf extract” which is the narrower statement of the range/limitation. The claim is considered indefinite because there is a question or doubt as to whether the feature introduced by such narrower language is (a) merely exemplary of the remainder of the claim, and therefore not required, or (b) a required feature of the claims.
Furthermore, the claim is vague and indefinite as there is no specific definition to distinguish a leaf extract from “a guava extract”. The specification teaches, “leaves, stems, flowers, roots, peels, fruits, or mixtures thereof of the garlic, black tea or guava may be targets to be extracted.” See, published application, [0012].
The remaining claims are rejected for depending on the indefinite base claim, claim 1.
Oath/Declaration
The declaration filed under 37 CFR 1.132 on January 23, 2026 has been fully considered but does not place the application in allowable condition.
The declaration presents data which shows the expression level of SREBP-1c (sterol regulatory element binding protein 1c) in human sebaceous gland cell lines by a composition representative of the present invention (Example 4) and comparison compositions. The declaration shows the result of the composition of Example 4, which contains garlic extract, black tea extract, guava extract, guava leaf extract, luffa cylindrical fruit extract, and water lily flower extract), exhibited a superior sebum secretion inhibition effect. However, it is well known in the art that guava fruit extract and Nymphaea flower extract are useful in sebum reduction. See, for example, WO2012092597 A2, KR 20140110376 A and CN103458908 A. Furthermore, the present data is incomplete as the meaning of the term “guava extract” in claim 1 is unclear as indicated above.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-4 and 6 have been considered but are moot because all prior art rejections have been withdrawn.
Applicant also argues that cited references fail to suggest any expectation of sebum reduction effects of the present composition. The examiner agrees that neither Kang nor Paufique mentions sebum inhibition effects of the disclosed compositions, but the sebum inhibition effect of the claimed composition was not part of the claims and therefore was not addressed in the previous rejection. On the other hand, both guava fruit extract and water lily flower extract are known as sebum reduction inhibitors. Furthermore, the examiner is unable to consider the full merits of the declaration due to the indefiniteness of the claims, as explained above.
Conclusion
No claims are allowed.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GINA CHIEUN YU JUSTICE whose telephone number is (571)272-8605. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00 AM - 5 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, BETHANY BARHAM can be reached at 571-272-6175. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GINA C JUSTICE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1617
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