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 .
Status
Applicant’s response dated 28 May 2026 to the previous Office action dated 02 December 2025 is acknowledged. Pursuant to amendments therein, claims 1-22 are pending in the application.
The claim objections made in the previous Office action are withdrawn in view of applicant’s claim amendments.
The rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102 made in the previous Office action is withdrawn in view of applicant’s claim amendments, but a new (modified) rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102 is made herein in view of applicant’s claim amendments.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 1-13 and 16-22 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to nonelected inventions, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 19 August 2025.
Claims 14-15 are under current consideration.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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) 14-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Horn ‘006 (US 8,933,006 B1; issued 13 January 2015; of record).
Regarding claims 14-15, Horn ‘006 discloses a contact lens cleaning composition comprising 5.00% w/v polyoxyl 40 stearate (i.e., a polyoxyethyleneglycol alkyl ether, PEG-40 stearate), 0.20% w/v poloxamer 407, 0.10% w/v poloxamer 188, and NaCl (Table 1 Composition 15), reading on the claimed contact lens storage composition comprising two or more nonionic surfactants selected from polyoxyethyleneglycol alkyl ethers and poloxamers at a total concentration from about 3.0% to about 5.9% w/v and sodium chloride, given that the claimed term “storage” merely implies an intended use of the composition that imposes no structure or steps not otherwise recited in the claim, and given that the total concentration of polyoxyl 40 stearate, poloxamer 407, and poloxamer 188 nonionic surfactants is 5.3% w/v (i.e., 5% + 0.20% + 0.10% w/v).
Further regarding claims 14-15, Horn ‘006 discloses that the composition of Table 1 is instilled as drops to contact lens wearers complaining of dry, uncomfortable lenses after 16 hours of continuous contact lens use which provided long-lasting relief upon instillation with improved comfort (column 5 lines 5-14) wherein the method of the invention is directed to a method of cleaning a contact lens while the contact lens remains on the eye (column 1 lines 5-14), reading on the claimed method of enhancing contact lens comfort comprising administering the composition to a subject in need thereof of claim 14 and the claimed method of enhancing contact lens wear time comprising administering the composition to a subject in need thereof of claim 15.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 28 May 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that the claims exclude polyoxyl 40 stearate (remarks page 7). In response, the claims do not exclude polyoxyl 40 stearate in that the claims include polyoxyethyleneglycol alkyl ethers, and polyoxyl 40 stearate (i.e., PEG-40 stearate) is a polyoxyethyleneglycol alkyl ether.
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 MICHAEL B. PALLAY whose telephone number is (571)270-3473. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM Eastern Time.
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, Sue Liu 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.
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/MICHAEL B. PALLAY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1617
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