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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group III, claims 4-8 and 10, in the reply filed on 5/8/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 1, 2, 3, 9 and 11 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected inventions, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 5/8/2026.
The species requirement of 4/1/2026 is withdrawn.
Priority
The present application is a continuation of PCT/CN2022/109999 (filed 8/3/2022) and claims benefit of foreign application CHINA 202111401727.7 (filed 11/19/2021).
While a certified copy of the foreign priority document has been received, it is noted an English translation of the document has not been filed.
Priority is not recognized for the ‘727.7 application as a machine translation of the document available on Google Patents demonstrates the document focuses on “yellow-green stropharia rugoso-annulata” which is found on “Qinghai-Tibet plateau, and the main production areas are Qinghai-Tibet autonomous region Xiong County, qilin county of Qinghai province, sichuan province stone Qu County and the like, and the quality of the three main production areas is optimal”. The present application focuses on “Floccularia luteovirens” which is “a gold yellow color” and “is also known as yellow mushroom and golden mushroom”. Floccularia luteovirens is mainly distributed in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau; and the main producing areas include Dangxiong County of Tibet Autonomous Region, Qilian County of Qinghai Province and Shiqu County of Sichuan Province, and the quality of these three main producing areas is the best. Thus, the ‘727.7 application and the present application disclose different subject matter.
Information Disclosure Statement
The listing of references in the specification or the citation of references in the body of the specification is not a proper information disclosure statement. 37 CFR 1.98(b) requires a list of all patents, publications, or other information submitted for consideration by the Office, and MPEP § 609.04(a) states, "the list may not be incorporated into the specification but must be submitted in a separate paper." Therefore, unless the references have been cited by the examiner on form PTO-892, they have not been considered.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because they disclose nucleic acid sequences without providing the required SEQ ID NOs.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Nucleotide and/or Amino Acid Sequence Disclosures
Summary of Requirements for Patent Applications Filed On Or After July 1, 2022, That Have Sequence Disclosures
37 CFR 1.831(a) requires that patent applications which contain disclosures of nucleotide and/or amino acid sequences that fall within the definitions of 37 CFR 1.831(b) must contain a “Sequence Listing XML”, as a separate part of the disclosure, which presents the nucleotide and/or amino acid sequences and associated information using the symbols and format in accordance with the requirements of 37 CFR 1.831-1.835. This “Sequence Listing XML” part of the disclosure may be submitted:
1. In accordance with 37 CFR 1.831(a) using the symbols and format requirements of 37 CFR 1.832 through 1.834 via the USPTO patent electronic filing system (see Section I.1 of the Legal Framework for Patent Electronic System (https://www.uspto.gov/PatentLegalFramework), hereinafter “Legal Framework”) in XML format, together with an incorporation by reference statement of the material in the XML file in a separate paragraph of the specification (an incorporation by reference paragraph) as required by 37 CFR 1.835(a)(2) or 1.835(b)(2) identifying:
a. the name of the XML file
b. the date of creation; and
c. the size of the XML file in bytes; or
2. In accordance with 37 CFR 1.831(a) using the symbols and format requirements of 37 CFR 1.832 through 1.834 on read-only optical disc(s) as permitted by 37 CFR 1.52(e)(1)(ii), labeled according to 37 CFR 1.52(e)(5), with an incorporation by reference statement of the material in the XML format according to 37 CFR 1.52(e)(8) and 37 CFR 1.835(a)(2) or 1.835(b)(2) in a separate paragraph of the specification identifying:
a. the name of the XML file;
b. the date of creation; and
c. the size of the XML file in bytes.
SPECIFIC DEFICIENCIES AND THE REQUIRED RESPONSE TO THIS NOTICE ARE AS FOLLOWS:
#1 Specific deficiency - Sequences appearing in the drawings are not identified by sequence identifiers in accordance with 37 CFR 1.831(c). Sequence identifiers for sequences (i.e., “SEQ ID NO:X” or the like) must appear either in the drawings or in the Brief Description of the Drawings.
Required response – Applicant must provide:
Amended drawings in accordance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) inserting the required sequence identifiers;
AND/OR
A substitute specification in compliance with 37 CFR 1.52, 1.121(b)(3), and 1.125 inserting the required sequence identifiers (i.e., “SEQ ID NO:X” or the like) into the Brief Description of the Drawings, consisting of:
• A copy of the previously-submitted specification, with deletions shown with strikethrough or brackets and insertions shown with underlining (marked-up version);
• A copy of the amended specification without markings (clean version); and
• A statement that the substitute specification contains no new matter.
Claim Objections
Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities: The claim appears to be a literal translation into English from a foreign document and is replete with grammatical and idiomatic errors. Appropriate correction is required. For example, the claim recites “primer groups” rather than “pairs of primers” or “primer pairs” or “performing a fluorescent PCR amplification reaction on a primer group” rather than ““performing a fluorescent PCR amplification reaction using a primer group”.
Claim 5 is objected to because of the following informalities: similar to claim 4 the claim uses the term “primer groups” and refers to “the primer group” being “amplified”. Generally, it is understood that the target sequence is amplified using the primer as an extension starting point and the target sequence as a template.
Claim 10 is objected to because of the following informalities: similar to claim 4 the claim uses the term “primer group”.
Claim Interpretation
The term “DNA barcode” is interpreted in view of the instant specification as “conserved and stable genetic DNA sequences in a genome” (para. 4).
Claim 5 is interpreted as setting forth a criteria for “judging” a Floccularia luteovirens as one with “high total polysaccharide content”.
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 4-8 and 10 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.
Regarding claim 4, it is not clear how the recited preamble is intended to breathe life and meaning into the claims. The preamble of the claim recites a “method for screening Floccularia luteovirens with a total polysaccharide content index”. However, the method steps in the claim only require steps S1, S2 and S3. Thus, it is unclear if applicant intends to cover any method of performing the recited steps, or if the method is intended to somehow require more to accomplish the goal set forth in the preamble. If it is the later, then it appears that the claims are incomplete, as they fail to provide any active steps that clearly accomplish the goal of screening with “a total polysaccharide content index” as set forth by the preamble of the claim, in part because the claim does not require genomic DNA from Floccularia luteovirens being evaluated. Amending the claim to include active method steps that elements that more clearly relate to the goal as set forth in the preamble may aid in overcoming this rejection.
Claims 5-8 and 10 are similarly indefinite because they directly or indirectly depend from claim 4.
Regarding claim 4, the claim recites “a nucleotide sequence of the primer group comprises one or more groups of: SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 2…and/or SEQ ID NO: 14 and SEQ ID NO: 15”. The phrase “a nucleotide sequence” broadly encompasses fragments of the SEQ ID NOs and is contrasted with the phrase “the nucleotide sequence of the primer group comprises one or more groups…” which encompasses the entire length of the SEQ ID NO sequence. The claim states “a nucleotide sequence” “comprises” one or more groups of the recited SEQ ID NOs. It is unclear if the claim requires “a nucleotide sequence” to require the full length sequences of the recited SEQ ID NOs and may include any additional sequences on the 5’ or 3’ ends of the sequences.
Claims 5-8 and 10 are similarly indefinite because they directly or indirectly depend from claim 4.
Regarding claim 4, the claim recites “a nucleotide sequence of the DNA barcode comprises one or more of:…”. The phrase “a nucleotide sequence” broadly encompasses fragments of the SEQ ID NOs and is contrasted with the phrase “the nucleotide sequence of the DNA barcode comprises…” which encompasses the entire length of the SEQ ID NO sequence. The claim states “a nucleotide sequence” “comprises” one or more of the recited SEQ ID NOs. It is unclear if the claim requires “a nucleotide sequence” of the DNA barcode requires the full length sequences of the recited SEQ ID NOs and may include any additional sequences on the 5’ or 3’ ends of the sequences.
Claims 5-8 and 10 are similarly indefinite because they directly or indirectly depend from claim 4.
Regarding claim 10, the claim recites “a nucleotide sequence of the primer group comprises one or more groups of: SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 2…and/or SEQ ID NO: 14 and SEQ ID NO: 15”. The phrase “a nucleotide sequence” broadly encompasses fragments of the SEQ ID NOs and is contrasted with the phrase “the nucleotide sequence of the primer group comprises one or more groups…” which encompasses the entire length of the SEQ ID NO sequence. The claim states “a nucleotide sequence” “comprises” one or more groups of the recited SEQ ID NOs. It is unclear if the claim requires “a nucleotide sequence” to require the full length sequences of the recited SEQ ID NOs and may include any additional sequences on the 5’ or 3’ ends of the sequences.
Regarding claim 10, the claim recites “a nucleotide sequence of the DNA barcode comprises one or more of:…”. The phrase “a nucleotide sequence” broadly encompasses fragments of the SEQ ID NOs and is contrasted with the phrase “the nucleotide sequence of the DNA barcode comprises…” which encompasses the entire length of the SEQ ID NO sequence. The claim that “a nucleotide sequence” “comprises” one or more of the recited SEQ ID NOs. It is unclear if the claim requires “a nucleotide sequence” of the DNA barcode requires the full length sequences of the recited SEQ ID NOs and may include any additional sequences on the 5’ or 3’ ends of the sequences.
Conclusion
No claims allowed.
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Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH G DAUNER whose telephone number is (571)270-3574. The examiner can normally be reached 7 am EST to 4:30 EST with second Fridays Off.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Wu-Cheng Winston Shen can be reached at 5712723157. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JOSEPH G. DAUNER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1682
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