Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/272,752

USE OF EXTRACTS OF DISTILLERS' DRIED GRAINS WITH SOLUBLES AS BIOPESTICIDES AND/OR BIOSTIMULANTS

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Jul 17, 2023
Examiner
LIU, SUE XU
Art Unit
1616
Tech Center
1600 — Biotechnology & Organic Chemistry
Assignee
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
21%
Grant Probability
At Risk
1-2
OA Rounds
5y 0m
To Grant
34%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants only 21% of cases
21%
Career Allow Rate
46 granted / 221 resolved
-39.2% vs TC avg
Moderate +13% lift
Without
With
+12.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
5y 0m
Avg Prosecution
53 currently pending
Career history
274
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.3%
-37.7% vs TC avg
§103
42.5%
+2.5% vs TC avg
§102
13.7%
-26.3% vs TC avg
§112
26.1%
-13.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 221 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (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. Claim(s) 22,26,29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Boydston et al.( Response of Weeds and Ornamental Plants to Potting Soil Amended with Dried Distillers Grains, HortScience (Feb 2008), Volume 43, Number 1, pp.191-195, 5 p.). Boydston et al. teach the response of weeds and ornamental plants to potting soil amended with dried distillers grains. Soil is an agriculturally acceptable ingredient. Weeds and ornamental plants are being subjected to the application of soil amended with dried distillers grains. Boydston like instant claims share the active step involving the application of soil amended with dried distillers grains to plants; therefore it is inherent that like instant claims Boydston teaching would anticipate inducing in a plant a systemic resistance to a biotic stress as instantly claimed. Claim Objection Claims 23-25,27-28,30-40 are 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. Telephonic Inquiry Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALTON NATHANIEL PRYOR whose telephone number is (571)272-0621. The examiner can normally be reached 7-4:00 M-F. 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, Liu,Sue can be reached at 571-272-5539. 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. /ALTON N PRYOR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1616
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jul 17, 2023
Application Filed
Sep 23, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
21%
Grant Probability
34%
With Interview (+12.9%)
5y 0m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 221 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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