DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after December 08, 2023, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Status of the Application
Receipt is acknowledged of Applicants’ claimed invention filed on 12/08/2023 in the matter of Application N° 18/534,349. Said documents are entered on the record. The Examiner further acknowledges the following:
Thus, claims 1-17 represent all claims currently under consideration.
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. (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Handley et al. WO2020163830A1
Handley et al. teach a wipe for use in the tattooing process. “Towelette (Diamond Wipe 80 non-woven wipe)” (See page 104, lines 7-9). (e.g. The term “towelette” refers to a pre-moistened, disposable non-woven wipe). (e.g., Diamond Wipe 80 gsm substrate, impregnated with a liquid composition such as an antiseptic, cleanser, or palliative agent). (e.g. common examples of palliative agents is lidocaine, and emollient/moisturizing). (e.g. the non-woven fabric is adapted to absorb excess tattoo ink and may be used to cleanse, sanitize, applying therapeutic agents, or soothe the skin during or after the tattooing process), (See page 104, lines 7-10). Therefore, claim 1 is anticipated by Handley et al.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Handley et al. (WO2020163830A1), in view of Spanjer et al. (US11446256B1), and Mengxin et al. (CN105287105A).
Regarding claims 1, 10, and 11, Handley et al. teach a wipe for use in the tattooing process. “Towelette (Diamond Wipe 80 non-woven wipe)” (See page 104, lines 7-9). (e.g. The term “towelette” refers to a pre-moistened, disposable non-woven wipe). (e.g., Diamond Wipe 80 gsm substrate, impregnated with a liquid composition such as an antiseptic, cleanser, or palliative agent). (e.g. common examples of palliative agents is lidocaine, and emollient/moisturizing), (as required by instant claims 2, 7, and 15). (e.g. the non-woven fabric is adapted to absorb excess tattoo ink and may be used to cleanse, sanitize, applying therapeutic agents, or soothe the skin during or after the tattooing process), (See page 104, lines 7-10). (e.g. the known industrial composition of Diamond Wipe 80 non-woven wipe, the absorptive material comprises viscose rayon (as required by instant claim 12 (See page 104, lines 7-8). To help the tattoo dye develop on the skin, primer wipes must be used during the tattoo application process (e.g. Tattoo primer wipes are pre-treatment wipes impregnated with a cleansing or antiseptic solution that removes bacteria from the surface before tattooing. They’re designed to help sanitize the area to reduce infection risk. Tattoo primer wipes contain combinations of antiseptic/sanitizer, common ingredients are benzalkonium chloride), (as required by instant claim 6 (See page 109, lines 2-4).
Regarding claim 16, Handley et al. teach a wipe for use in the tattooing process. “Towelette (Diamond Wipe 80 non-woven wipe)” (See page 104, lines 7-9). (e.g. the known industrial composition of Diamond Wipe 80 non-woven wipe, the absorptive material comprises viscose rayon (See page 104, lines 7-8). (e.g. common examples of palliative agents is lidocaine, and emollient/moisturizing), To help the tattoo dye develop on the skin, primer wipes must be used during the tattoo application process (e.g. Tattoo primer wipes are pre-treatment wipes impregnated with a cleansing or antiseptic solution that removes bacteria from the surface before tattooing. They’re designed to help sanitize the area to reduce infection risk. Tattoo primer wipes contain combinations of antiseptic/sanitizer, common ingredients are benzalkonium chloride), (See page 109, lines 2-4).
However, Handley et al. fails to teach wherein said pain reliever comprises lidocaine.
Spanjer et al. teach wherein a local anesthetic agent or agents are chosen from the group that includes lidocaine (as required by instant claim 3 (See page 11, column 17, lines 23-25). With regard to the total weight of said aqueous formulation, the total amount of said one or more local anesthetic agents ranges from approximately 0.1 wt % to approximately 20 wt % (as required by instant claims 4, 5, 13, 14, and 17, (See page 11, column 17, lines 34-37). One or more antiseptic agents are chosen from the benzalkonium chloride group (as required by instant claim 6 (See page 10, column 16, lines 50-51).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to modify the wipe of Handley et al., which teaches a towelette (e.g., Diamond Wipe 80 gsm non-woven substrate) impregnated with a liquid composition such as an antiseptic, cleanser, or palliative agent for use in the tattooing process, by incorporating a pain-relieving agent such as lidocaine as taught by Spanjer et al., who disclose the local anesthetic agents including lidocaine may be used in topical or pre-moistened compositions to provide localized pain relief. Such modification would have been a matter of routine formulation optimization to enhance user comfort during the tattooing process, with a reasonable expectation of success, since lidocaine is well known in the art as a safe and effective topical anesthetic.
However, Spanjer et al. fails to teach wherein said wipe is manufactured from a flexible fabric, wherein said flexible fabric comprises viscose.
Mengxin et al. teach wherein said wipe is manufactured from a flexible fabric, wherein said flexible fabric comprises viscose (e.g. wherein a non-woven fabric layer is made using a composite fiber that is viscose rayon (as required by instant claims 8 and 9 (See claim 7).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to modify the wipe of Spanjer et al. which teaches a pre-moistened wipe containing a local anesthetic agent such as lidocaine, to be manufactured from a flexible fabric comprising viscose as taught by Mengxin et al. who disclose that a non-woven fabric layer may be made using composite fibers comprising viscose rayon. Such modification would have been a matter of routine material selection to provide a soft, absorbent, and durable substrate suitable for impregnation with liquid compositions, with a reasonable expectation of success since viscose rayon is well known in the art as a flexible non-woven material commonly used in disposable wipes.
Conclusion
No claim is allowed.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Kimberly Barber whose telephone number is (703) 756-5302. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday from 6:30 AM to 3:30 PM EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Robert A. Wax, can be reached at telephone number (571) 272-0623. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KIMBERLY BARBER/Examiner, Art Unit 1615
/Robert A Wax/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1615