Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/338,178

REPORTER AND USE THEREOF

Final Rejection §102
Filed
Jun 20, 2023
Priority
Dec 21, 2020 — RE 10-2020-0179829 +2 more
Examiner
RILEY, JEZIA
Art Unit
1681
Tech Center
1600 — Biotechnology & Organic Chemistry
Assignee
SFC Co., Ltd.
OA Round
2 (Final)
83%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
90%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 83% — above average
83%
Career Allowance Rate
1087 granted / 1309 resolved
+23.0% vs TC avg
Moderate +7% lift
Without
With
+7.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
24 currently pending
Career history
1329
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.5%
-38.5% vs TC avg
§103
39.1%
-0.9% vs TC avg
§102
24.1%
-15.9% vs TC avg
§112
12.8%
-27.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1309 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 . Response to Remarks Applicants’ arguments, filed on 04/16/2026, have been approved and entered. They have been fully considered. Rejections and/or objections not reiterated from previous office actions are hereby withdrawn. The following rejections and/or objections are either newly applied or reiterated. They constitute the complete set presently being applied to the instant application. 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) 1, 5-6, 9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Song et al. EP 3309552A1. Song et al. discloses a compound of Formula 2, wherein Ar1=unsubstituted C6 aryl, Z2=O, Y=CR9R10, with R9=unsubstituted C1 alkyl, R10=C5 alkyl substituted with active ester (N-hydroxy succinimide derivative), and R1- R2=hydrogen (see page 65 compound 46). Song et al. discloses the compound of Formula 3 of claim 7, wherein x=5 and E=active ester; and the compound of Formula 6 of claim 10, wherein Z2=O, X=O, Y=CR9R10, with R9=unsubstituted C1 alkyl, R10=C5 alkyl substituted with active ester, and R1-R4 and R12- R15=hydrogen. Applicants argue that Song et al. does not discloses the feature at least one of R₁ to R₁₁ substituted with phosphoramidite, or at least one of R₁ to R₁₁ substituted with active ester represented by Formula 3. This is not convincing because Song does disclose a compound wherein at least one of R₁ to R₁₁ is substituted with an active ester of Formula 3 where E is N-hydroxy succinimide derivative (see rejection above). Therefore, the rejection is maintained. Claims 2-4 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. Claims 8, 20-23 are allowed. THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 JEZIA RILEY whose telephone number is (571)272-0786. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30-6:00pm. 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, Gary Benzion can be reached at 571-272-0782. 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. /JEZIA RILEY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1681 29 May 2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jun 20, 2023
Application Filed
Jan 27, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
Apr 16, 2026
Response Filed
Jun 02, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12680132
NUCLEOTIDE CLEAVABLE LINKERS WITH RIGID SPACERS AND USES THEREOF
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Patent 12680127
METHOD FOR POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION
2y 11m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12662701
METHOD FOR SEQUENCING POLYNUCLEOTIDES BASED ON OPTICAL SIGNAL KINETICS OF LUMINESCENT LABELS AND SECONDARY LUMINESCENT SIGNALS
4y 4m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026
Patent 12662626
DICATIONIC FLUORESCENT DYES
4y 0m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026
Patent 12655480
SAMPLE PREPARATION FOR LC-MS BASED SEQUENCE MAPPING OF NUCLEIC ACIDS
3y 8m to grant Granted Jun 16, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
83%
Grant Probability
90%
With Interview (+7.1%)
2y 5m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 1309 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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