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Claim Objections Withdrawn
The objection to claim 4, outlined in the previous Office Action, has been overcome by inventor’s amendment. The amendment corrects the claim text as appropriate.
112(b) Rejections Withdrawn
The rejection of claim 16 under 35 USC 112(b) or 35 USC 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, outlined in the previous Office Action, has been overcome by inventor’s amendment. The amendment clarifies the claim as appropriate.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b), NEW
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.
Claim 15 is 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.
The dependency of the claim is unclear because it depends from a canceled claim (claim 14).
Clarification is in order.
103 Rejections Withdrawn
The rejection of claims 1-4, 7-9 and 11-22 under 35 USC 103, outlined in the previous Office Action, has been overcome by inventor’s amendments and arguments. With respect to claims 3, 13, 14, 18 and 22, the amendment cancels the claims. With respect to the remaining claims, inventor’s narrowing amendments and accompanying arguments have been carefully considered and are persuasive.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 2, 4, 7-9, 11, 12, 16, 17 and 19-21 are allowed. The subject matter of claim 15 would be allowable once the 112 rejection outlined above has been overcome. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The closest prior art remains the prior art of record. As noted above, inventor has narrowed the scope of the claimed subject matter, and presented cogent accompanying arguments, that the instant methods would not have been obvious to one of ordinary skill with respect to accurately determining and appropriately controlling the non-ceruloplasmin bound copper levels in a subject undergoing treatment for Wilson’s Disease. There is no motivation to modify the teachings of the cited art in order to arrive at the instant methods.
Conclusion
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 BRIAN J DAVIS whose telephone number is (571)272-0638. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5:00 PM EDT.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ali Soroush, can be reached at 571-272-9925. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRIAN J DAVIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1614 8/21/2026
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