CTNF 18/276,932 CTNF 84975 Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. DETAILED ACTION Claims 9-27 are pending and are under consideration in the instant office action. Election/Restrictions Applicant’s election with traverse of Group !! (claims 11-27) and the following species in their response dated 03/06/2026 is acknowledged. Species 1: 4-Hydroxyacetophenone; Species 2: Niacinamide; Species 3: Glycerol; Species 4: Isethionate; and Species 5: Vitamin E. Applicants argue that the system comprises thymol, and additionally, a second component selected from a reasonable number of species that includes p-anisic acid, aloe, gluconolactone, tetrahydro curcumin, 4-hydroxyacetophenone or a mixture of the same. The invention in addition to being directed an antibacterial system is also directed to directed to an end use composition having the antibacterial system described. Applicants respectfully submit that all claims and species of record may be examined without undue burden to the Examiner Applicants arguments are found to be persuasive and the restriction requirement set forth on 01/02/2026 is hereby withdrawn and all the claims 9-27 are under examination.. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/20/2023 and 03/06/2026 complies with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97, 1.98 and MPEP § 609. Accordingly, it has been placed in the application file and the information therein has been considered as to the merits. See attached copy of the PTO-1449. Priority This application is a U.S. National phase application under 35 U.S.C 371 of PCT application PCT/EP2022/052478, filed 02/02/2022, which claims benefit under Title 35 U.S.C 119 to European patent application no. EP21157304.3 filed on 02/16/2021. Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-12-aia AIA (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. 07-15 AIA Claim s 9-18, 20-21, 23, 25 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 ( a) (1) and under 35 U.S.C 102(a)(2 ) as being anticipated by Modak et al. (US 2016/0000094) (all reference recited in IDS dated 11/20/2023) Instant claims are drawn to an antibacterial system consisting essentially of:a) a first component which is thymol; and (b) a second component which is p-anisic acid, aloe, gluconolactone, tetrahydrocurcumin, 4-hydroxyacetophenone or a mixture thereof wherein the first and second component are at a weight ratio 1:6 to 6:1. Modak et al. discloses antibacterial compositions and personal care formulations comprising thymol and tetrahydrocurcuminoids [0024] [0055]. They disclose their compositions to comprise an essential oil as active constituent comprising thymol at at concentration of 0.05-1% w/w [0039]and tetrahydrocurcuminoids as a botanical extract and the amount if between 0.5-1% w/w [0031], . They further disclose that their composition comprises an solvent such as water or ethanol [0030, 0117]. They disclose control base to which the preservative compositions were added comprising 78% water [0121]. [0257], [0303], . They disclose cosmetic compositions comprising thymol and tetrahydrocurcumin at a ratio of 2: 1 [0137, 0140, 0143, 0146, 0149 } the following cosmetic composition [0152] : PNG media_image1.png 181 464 media_image1.png Greyscale It is noted that the ratio of thymol to tetrahydrocurcumin is 2:1 Modak et al. discloses their compositions to further comprise of resveratrol, vitamin E (between 0.005-0.01% w/w) and/or vitamin C (between 0.005-0.01% w/w) [0009][0055]. They disclose that their preservative compositions can be used in a personal care product, a topical antimicrobial or antifungal cream for human or veterinary use, a food or beverage preservative or disinfectant [0012] and disclose that personal care products comprising the above ingredients include, but are not limited to, creams such as but not limited to hand cream, lotions and splashes, hair care products, makeup (for example but not limited to foundation, powder, lipstick and eye makeup such as shadow, liner and mascara) and other cosmetic products, gels, tonics, shampoos, soaps (e.g., liquid or bar soap), and wipe formulations [0119]. They further disclose that their composition does not contain further preservative3s such as quaternary ammonium compounds such as but not limited to benzalkonium chloride, benzethenium chloride, or cetylpyridinium chloride, biguanides such as chlorhexidine (e.g. chlorhexidine free base, chlorhexidine gluconate or chlorhexidine acetate) or polyhexamethylenebiguanide, chlorinated phenols, triclosan, chlorhexidine or chlorhexidine salt, phenoxyethanol, povidone iodine, aliphatic alcohol, or parachlorometaxylenol [0049]. They disclose a Soap composition comprising betaine or cocoamide propyl betaine with thymol and curcumin [0122-0123]. Modak et al. discloses that their compositions may contain additional components known in the art for use in personal care compositions such as anti-irritant component which includes aloe gel, thickening or gelling agents which includes magnesium aluminum silicate, magnesium silicate, magnesium trisilicate, surfactants such as cocamidopropyl betaine, vitamins such as Vitamin A, E or C and sunscreens such as arobenzone etc. and other components [0233-0241]. They disclose the inclusion of alkylpolyglucoside in their compositions [0224] Therefore the composition disclosed by Modak et al. fully anticipates instant claims 9-18, 20-21, 23, 25 and 26 Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. 07-23-aia AIA The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co. , 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. 07-20-02-aia AIA This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. Claims 19, 22, 24 and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable Modak et al. as applied to claim 11 (rejected in the 102 rejection above) further in view of Mintel Booster : pages 1-7, 2018 and Mintel: floral water, pages 1-3, 2019 (all references recited in IDS dated 11/20/2023) Instant claims are drawn to an antibacterial system consisting essentially of:a) a first component which is thymol; and (b) a second component which gluconolactone, or 4-hydroxyacetophenone and the system further comprising salicylic acid or niacinamide Modak et al. teaches as recited above and reiterated below Modak et al. discloses antibacterial compositions and personal care formulations comprising thymol and tetrahydrocurcuminoids [0024] [0055]. They disclose their compositions to comprise an essential oil as active constituent comprising thymol at at concentration of 0.05-1% w/w [0039]and tetrahydrocurcuminoids as a botanical extract and the amount if between 0.5-1% w/w [0031], . They further disclose that their composition comprises an solvent such as water or ethanol [0030, 0117]. They disclose control base to which the preservative compositions were added comprising 78% water [0121]. [0257], [0303], . They disclose cosmetic compositions comprising thymol and tetrahydrocurcumin at a ratio of 2: 1 [0137, 0140, 0143, 0146, 0149 } the following cosmetic composition [0152] : PNG media_image1.png 181 464 media_image1.png Greyscale It is noted that the ratio of thymol to tetrahydrocurcumin is 2:1 Modak et al. discloses their compositions to further comprise of resveratrol, vitamin E (between 0.005-0.01% w/w) and/or vitamin C (between 0.005-0.01% w/w) [0009][0055]. They disclose that their preservative compositions can be used in a personal care product, a topical antimicrobial or antifungal cream for human or veterinary use, a food or beverage preservative or disinfectant [0012] and disclose that personal care products comprising the above ingredients include, but are not limited to, creams such as but not limited to hand cream, lotions and splashes, hair care products, makeup (for example but not limited to foundation, powder, lipstick and eye makeup such as shadow, liner and mascara) and other cosmetic products, gels, tonics, shampoos, soaps (e.g., liquid or bar soap), and wipe formulations [0119]. They further disclose that their composition does not contain further preservatives such as quaternary ammonium compounds such as but not limited to benzalkonium chloride, benzethenium chloride, or cetylpyridinium chloride, biguanides such as chlorhexidine (e.g. chlorhexidine free base, chlorhexidine gluconate or chlorhexidine acetate) or polyhexamethylenebiguanide, chlorinated phenols, triclosan, chlorhexidine or chlorhexidine salt, phenoxyethanol, povidone iodine, aliphatic alcohol, or parachlorometaxylenol [0049]. They disclose a Soap composition comprising betaine or cocoamide propyl betaine with thymol and curcumin [0122-0123]. Modak et al. discloses that their compositions may contain additional components known in the art for use in personal care compositions such as anti-irritant component which includes aloe gel, thickening or gelling agents which includes magnesium aluminum silicate, magnesium silicate, magnesium trisilicate, surfactants such as cocamidopropyl betaine, vitamins such as Vitamin A, E or C and sunscreens such as avobenzone etc. and other components [0233-0241]. They disclose the inclusion of alkylpolyglucoside in their compositions [0224] While Modak et all explicitly disclose the inclusion additional components known in the art for use in personal care compositions and recites a big list of them as noted above, they do not teach their composition to include 4-hydroxyacetophenone or gluconolactone, or the inclusion of salicylic acid or niacinamide in their composition. However, Mintel; Booster teaches a dermatological product to treat breakout-prone skin, comprising salicylic acid which helps kill breakout causing bacteria, and niacinamide which reinforce skin’s defensive barrier and helps even skin tone (page 1 under leaflet info). They disclose their ingredients to include thymol , gluconolactone and Water in addition to salicylic acid and niacinamide among other ingredients (page 4 under Ingredients). Mintel Floral water teaches a composition to ease skin symptoms such as sweating, overheating and rashes (under product description page 1), ingredients comprising thymol and hydroxy acetophenone (see under ingredients) As such it would have been prima facia obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to arrive at the instant claims motivated and guided by the combined teachings of the references above. .As taught by the Mintel products above , gluconolactone, 4-hydroxyacetophenone, salicylic acid and niacinamide are well known ingredients useful in the personal skin care products. Since Modak et al. provides a person of ordinary skill in the pharmaceutical arts motivation to include their antibacterial system in personal care products comprising agents and ingredients commonly used in these compositions, a person of ordinary skill in the art will be motivated to include the ingredients such as gluconolactone, 4-hydroxyacetophenone, salicylic acid and niacinamide in the composition of Modak et al. Each of these agents are already known to be used in the personal care compositions for the properties they impart and a person of ordinary skill in the art would be imbued with a reasonable expectation of success in that including them in the composition of Modak et al. absence of evidence to the contrary. Conclusion 12-151-07 AIA 07-97 12-51-07 Claim s 1, 7-10 and 35-43 are rejected. No claims are allowed Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAVITHA RAO whose telephone number is (571)270-5315. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 7 am to 4 pm.. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Renee Claytor can be reached on (571) 272-8394. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov . Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /SAVITHA M RAO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1691 Application/Control Number: 18/276,932 Page 2 Art Unit: 1691 Application/Control Number: 18/276,932 Page 3 Art Unit: 1691 Application/Control Number: 18/276,932 Page 4 Art Unit: 1691 Application/Control Number: 18/276,932 Page 5 Art Unit: 1691 Application/Control Number: 18/276,932 Page 6 Art Unit: 1691 Application/Control Number: 18/276,932 Page 7 Art Unit: 1691 Application/Control Number: 18/276,932 Page 8 Art Unit: 1691 Application/Control Number: 18/276,932 Page 9 Art Unit: 1691 Application/Control Number: 18/276,932 Page 10 Art Unit: 1691