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 Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claims 1-4 are 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. It is indefinite as to whether the “peptides as listed in the specification” are required to be the peptides listed in TABLE I. The insertion of – TABLE I of - - after “in” in line 8 of claim 1 would avoid this rejection.
Claims 2-4 are also rejected, since they depend from claim 1 but fail to overcome the objection to claim 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
This application apparently discloses allowable subject matter.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
HUANG et al ‘910 (US 2025/0081910) discloses a method for using/applying a keratin hydrolysis peptide solution including the steps of preparing the KHP solution by putting 70 kg of feathers whose content is 46% water in a sealed container, and hydrolyzing the mixture in the container with a temperature and pressure setting of 180 C and 13 kg/cm2 for a duration of 40 minutes There is no teaching, disclosure or suggestion if HUANG et al ‘910 to modify the process by mixing 66 kg of feathers whose content is 50% water and 44 kg of water in a sealed container, and hydrolyzing the mixture in the container with a temperature and pressure setting of 195 C and 16 kg/cm2 for a duration of 40 minutes, as required by applicant’s claims. Nor would there have been any motivation from the prior art to do so. Moreover, the solution of HUANG et al ‘910 is applied to the soil around cotton plants, whereas applicant’s claims require that the solution is applied to soil in which wheat seeds are planted. Accordingly applicant’s claims are not rejected over HUANG et al ‘910.
EP4201181A1 discloses the hydrolysis of keratin from feathers for a period ranging from 1 hour to 8 hours at a temperature ranging from 100 to 115 C. (See Paragraphs [0045], [0049] and [0050] of the English translation.) There is no teaching, disclosure or suggestion in EP4201181A1 to modify the process by mixing 66 kg of feathers whose content is 50% water and 44 kg of water in a sealed container, and hydrolyzing the mixture in the container with a temperature and pressure setting of 195 C and 16 kg/cm2 for a duration of 40 minutes, as required by applicant’s claims. Nor would there have been any motivation from the prior art to do so. Nor would there have been any motivation from the prior art to do so. Accordingly applicant’s claims are not rejected over EP4201181A1.
JP 4707154 B discloses the hydrolysis of feathers at a temperature of 80 to 120 C for 0.1 to 16 hours. (See Paragraph [0020] of the English translation.) There is no teaching, disclosure or suggestion in JP 4707154 B to modify the process by mixing 66 kg of feathers whose content is 50% water and 44 kg of water in a sealed container, and hydrolyzing the mixture in the container with a temperature and pressure setting of 195 C and 16 kg/cm2 for a duration of 40 minutes, as required by applicant’s claims. Nor would there have been any motivation from the prior art to do so. Accordingly applicant’s claims are not rejected over JP 4707154 B.
TW202339624 is made of record as constituting the equivalent of EP4201181A1.
CN112811950A is made of record for disclosing the hydrolysis of bird feathers at a temperature below 85 C for 0.5 to 4 hours. (See Paragraph s [n0010] and [n0011] of the English translation.
EP 1,731,528 B1 is made of record for disclosing the hydrolysis of feathers at a temperature of 80 to 120 C for a period of 0.1 to 16 hours. (See Paragraph [0021].)
CN 115594548A is made of record for disclosing the conversion of waste feathers into organic fertilizer by fermenting at 30-50 C for 1-5 days. (See Paragraph [n0007] of the English translation.
WO 01/64033 A2 is made of record for disclosing for disclosing a hydratable form of keratin for use as a soil amendment, wherein the keratin id derived from feathers. (See the paragraph bridging pages 4 and 5.
Van Dyke ‘987 (US 7,001,987) is made of record for disclosing the beneficial aspects of keratins at col. 1, lines 28-44.
Van Dyke ‘988 (US 7,001,988) is made of record for disclosing a method for chemically modifying peptides to achieve desired solubility characteristics.
Barone et al (US 7,066,995) is made of record for disclosing a composition containing keratin obtained from avian feathers.
CN 103204735 A is made of record for disclosing an active polypeptide water-soluble fertilizer
Conclusion
.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WAYNE A LANGEL whose telephone number is (571) 272-1353. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday from 8:15 am to 4:15 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anthony Zimmer can be reached at 571-270-3591. 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.
/WAYNE A LANGEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1736
Prosecution Insights