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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
Claim 18 is 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.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, for containing the limitation “wherein the aqueous medium comprises at least one selected from water, ethanol…”. This limitation renders the claim vague and indefinite, since if water is not selected, the medium is not aqueous. Appropriate correction and/or clarification is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sun Kaijun, CN 111956587A.
Sun Kaijun, CN 111956587A, discloses a liquid hair shampoo preparation comprising 13.27-18 parts by mass of sodium laureth sulfate, 0.57-1 part by mass of Polyquaternium-52 (i.e., a crosslinked copolymer of N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate diethyl sulfate/N,N-dimethylacrylamide/(poly)ethylene glycol dimethacrylate which is the preferred component (D), as identified in paragraph 52 of the instant specification), 0.09-0.15 parts by mass of Polyquternium-10 (i.e., a preferred cationic polymer having a cellulose backbone component (C), as identified in paragraph 43 of the instant specification), 0.12-0.2 parts by mass of Carbomer (i.e., the preferred cross-linked polyacrylic acid polymer as component (A) identified in paragraph 16 of the instant specification), adjunct ingredients, and 39.37-63.78 parts by mass of water (see paragraph 25 of Sun Kaijun, CN 111956587A), which results in a ratio of component (A) to component (D) of 1:2.85, a ratio of component (A) to component (C) of 1.33:1 and a ratio of component (D) to component (C) of 3.8:1. Specifically, note Examples 1-3, which are used in a process to wash hair. Although Sun Kaijun, CN 111956587A, is silent with respect to the pH value of their hair shampoo compositions, the examiner asserts that the hair shampoo compositions disclosed in Sun Kaijun, CN 111956587A, would inherently meet the pH requirements of the instant invention, since products of identical chemical composition cannot have mutually exclusive properties. Therefore, instant claims 1-20 are anticipated by Sun Kaijun, CN 111956587A.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRIAN P MRUK whose telephone number is (571)272-1321. The examiner can normally be reached on 7:00am-5:30pm Monday-Thursday.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Angela Brown-Pettigrew, can be reached on 571-272-2817. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/BRIAN P MRUK/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1761
Brian P Mruk
March 3, 2026
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