DETAILED ACTION
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after allowance or after an Office action under Ex Parte Quayle, 25 USPQ 74, 453 O.G. 213 (Comm'r Pat. 1935). Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on July 2, 2026 has been entered.
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 Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 1, 3-13, 16 and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102((a)(1)) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Fossum et al, WO 2020/005476.
Fossum et al, WO 2020/005476, discloses a fabric care composition comprising a graft copolymer containing (a) a polyalkylene oxide that has a number average molecular weight of 1,000 to 20,000 that is based on ethylene oxide, propylene oxide or butylene oxide, (b) N-vinylpyrrolidone, and (c) a vinyl ester, wherein the weight ratio of (a) to (b) is from 1:0.1 to 1:1, and wherein the weight amount of (a) is greater than the weight amount of (c) (see abstract and page 2, lines 15-24). It is further taught by Fossum et al that suitable vinyl esters include vinyl acetate (see page 3, lines 20-27), that the graft copolymer is present in the composition in an amount of 0.1-50% by weight, preferably 5-10% by weight (see page 6, lines 16-22), that the weight ratio of (a) to (c) is 1:0.1 to about 1:0.8 (see page 7, lines 8-10), that the weight ratio of (b) to (c) is 1:0.1 to 1:4 (see page 7, lines 7-8), that 10-60 mole percent of the graft copolymer is hydrolyzed (see page 12, lines 6-15), that the composition contains 0.1-5% by weight of an alkoxylated polyalkyleneimine polymer in an amount as low as 0.1% by weight, which polymer reads upon the generic “dye transfer inhibitor polymer” recited in instant claim 1, wherein a composition containing 5% by weight of a graft polymer and 0.1% by weight of an alkoxylated polyalkyleneimine polymer would have a weight ratio of 50:1 (see page 17, lines 13-27), 1-70% by weight of surfactants, such as linear alkylbenzene sulfonates, alkyl ethoxylated sulfates and alkyl sulfates (see page 13, line 12-page 14, line 8), fatty acids (see page 14, lines 9-18), and encapsulated perfumes (see page 12, line 26-page 13, line 10), wherein the fabric care composition is in the form of a liquid, solid or is encapsulated in a pouch (see page 23, lines 25-29), per the requirements of the instant invention. Specifically, note Examples 1-11 and Tables 1-11. Therefore, instant claims 1, 3-13, 16 and 18-19 are anticipated by Fossum et al, WO 2020/005476.
In the alternative that the above disclosure is insufficient to anticipate the above listed claims, it would have nonetheless been obvious to the skilled artisan to produce the claimed composition, as the reference teaches each of the claimed ingredients within the claimed proportions for the same utility.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1, 3-16 and 18-19 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-22 of U.S. Patent No. 11,326,129. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because U.S. Patent No. 11,326,129 claims a similar composition comprising a graft copolymer comprising (a) a polyalkylene oxide that has a number average molecular weight of 1,000 to 20,000 that is based on ethylene oxide, propylene oxide or butylene oxide, (b) N-vinylpyrrolidone, and (c) a vinyl ester, wherein the weight ratio of (a) to (b) is from 1:0.3 to 1:1, and wherein the weight amount of (a) is greater than the weight amount of (c), dye transfer inhibiting polymers, such as polyvinyl pyrrolidone, perfumes, fatty acids, surfactants and adjunct ingredients (see claims 1-22 of U.S. Patent No. 11,326,129), as required in the instant claims. Therefore, instant claims 1, 3-16 and 18-19 are an obvious formulation in view of claims 1-22 of U.S. Patent No. 11,326,129.
Claims 1, 3-13, 16 and 18-19 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-12 of copending Application No. 19/315,976 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because copending Application No. 19/315,976 claims a similar laundry detergent composition comprising 0.01-10% by weight of a polyalkylene imine polymer (i.e., a dye transfer inhibitor polymer), 0.1-70% by weight of a surfactant system, and 0.01-10% by weight of a polyalkylene oxide graft copolymer containing (a) a polyalkylene oxide that has a number average molecular weight of 1,000 to 20,000 that is based on ethylene oxide, propylene oxide or butylene oxide, (b) polyvinyl ester, (c) polyvinyl pyrrolidone, wherein the weight ratio of (a) to (c) is from 1:0.1 to 1:2, and wherein the weight amount of (a) is greater than the weight amount of (b), and wherein the composition is in the form of a liquid or a unit dose (see claims 1-12 of copending Application No. 19/315,976), as required in the instant claims. Therefore, instant claims 1, 3-13, 16 and 18-19 are an obvious formulation in view of claims 1-12 of copending Application No. 19/315,976.
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRIAN P MRUK whose telephone number is (571)272-1321. The examiner can normally be reached on 7:00am-5:30pm Monday-Thursday.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Angela Brown-Pettigrew, can be reached on 571-272-2817. 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.
/BRIAN P MRUK/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1761
Brian P Mruk
August 18, 2026
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