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 .
Application Status
The preliminary amendment filed on 6/26/2023 is acknowledged. Claims 1-20 are currently pending and under consideration.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements filed on 12/01/2023, 12/06/2023 and 7/09/2024 have been considered except where lined though.
Claim Objections
Claim 7 is objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 7 recites a gradient elution procedure in the form of a Table. Claims may contain tables either if necessary to conform to 35 U.S.C. 112 or if otherwise found to be desirable. See MPEP § 2173.05(s). When such a patent is printed, however, the table will not be included as part of the claim, and instead the claim will contain a reference to the table number. It is suggested that Applicants attempt to recite the procedure in narrative format. Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-20 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.
Regarding claim 1, claim 1 recites various R groups such as R2-1 or R2-2, but does not appear to define what said variables encompass. Accordingly, claim 1 and dependent claims thereof are indefinite.
Regarding claims 3 and 4, the phrase "such as" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitations following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Claim 7 contains the trademark/trade name Acclaim TM . Where a trademark or trade name is used in a claim as a limitation to identify or describe a particular material or product, the claim does not comply with the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph. See Ex parte Simpson, 218 USPQ 1020 (Bd. App. 1982). The claim scope is uncertain since the trademark or trade name cannot be used properly to identify any particular material or product. A trademark or trade name is used to identify a source of goods, and not the goods themselves. Thus, a trademark or trade name does not identify or describe the goods associated with the trademark or trade name. In the present case, the trademark/trade name is used to identify/describe a chromatographic column and, accordingly, the identification/description is indefinite.
Conclusion
Therefore, No claim is allowed.
Claims 1-20 are free of the prior art. WO2012035436A1 to Yoshio Hayashi (2012-03-22) appears to be the closest prior art to the instantly claimed invention. The Wo document teaches Plinabulin derivatives such as
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as microtubule inhibitors (see abstract, table 1). The claimed compound of formula (I) of the instant application differs from the compounds in the WO document in that a nitrogen containing 6 membered aliphatic heterocycle exists on an imidazole ring. The prior art does not teach or suggest the required modifications to arrive at the claimed compounds.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRANDON J FETTEROLF whose telephone number is (571)272-2919. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 6AM-4PM.
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/BRANDON J FETTEROLF/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1626