DETAILED ACTION
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: The status of the parent application should be updated/inserted in the section “Related Applications”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claim 15 to 17 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.
For claim 17, and the claims that depend thereon, note that “conditions for form a
complex… “is not specifically defined or explained in the specification such that it is unclear what conditions/steps this embraces and what are excluded.
For claim 15, the term “conventional” is subjective and without specific breadth.
As such this claim containing a “conventional (non-silicone) hydrogel” is indefinite.
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.
Claims 5 to 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Rathore et al. US 2004/0151755.
Rathore et al. teach an antimicrobial lens that contains silver bonded to a “silver
releasing compound”. It is important to note that, while Rathore et al. refer to silver throughout, they state that the teachings can apply to other metals including zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu). See paragraph 34.
The silver is added to contact lens compositions either prior to or after lens form-ation. Preferably the lens is prepared from a silicone hydrogel formulation. See para. 37 to 40. See also para. 46-48, 55-57 and 60-62.
While all of the above passages are relevant to this rejection and the teachings in Rathore et al., the Examiner will draw specific attention to the working examples.
In Example 16, paragraph 99, a contact lens is prepared from the monomer mix in Table 1. This includes monomers for making an ophthalmic device and NORBLOC. The latter reactant is defined in paragraph 76 and is a heterocyclic ligand containing monomer. More importantly this is defined in applicants’ specification as a preferred heterocyclic ligand-containing monomer. See page 16, lines 7 and 8.
The lens is contacted with a solution of AgNO3 and autoclaved for 150 minutes at 121o C. Given the fact that Example 1 in applicants’ specification autoclaves the lens and metal solution for 121oC for 30 minutes, the process of autoclaving for 150 minutes will meet the requirement of “conditions for form a complex…” in claim 17.
In short, Rathore et al. teach a method of making a lens in which (a) the same monomers and (b) the same contacting step as required in claim 17 are used. In this manner claim 17 is anticipated.
For claims 5 to 7, again see paragraph 34 which teaches many other metals that can be used, including copper and zinc, which meet these claims.
For claims 8 and 15, these monomers are found in Table 1 which shows the reactants used in the working examples. Table 1 includes a silicone monomer (para. 75, 79), a hydrophilic monomer (Rathore et al. claim 26, as well as Table 1) and/or a hydrophilic monomer (Rathore et al. claim 29, as well as Table 1).
For claims 9 to 13, as noted above, the NORBLOC benzotriazole component meets these requirements.
For claim 14, note that a lens is prepared in the working examples. See also paragraph 38.
For claim 16, note that no such compounds are required in Rathmore et al.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARGARET MOORE whose telephone number is (571)272-1090. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Friday, 10 am to 5 pm. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Heidi Kelly, can be reached at 571-270-1831.
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Mgm
4/3/26
/MARGARET G MOORE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1765