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 .
This is in response to the Amendment dated July 9, 2026. The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office Action.
Response to Arguments
Election/Restrictions
This application contains claims 10 and 22-23 (product = coated electrode) drawn to an invention nonelected with traverse in the reply filed on April 17, 2025.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 44 and 50 have been 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.
The rejection of 44 and 50 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, has been withdrawn in view of Applicant’s amendment.
Allowable Subject Matter
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claims 43-44, 46, 48-50, 58 and 60-67 define over the prior art of record because the
prior art does not contain any language that teaches or suggests a method of preparing an electrode surface for oligonucleotide synthesis, comprising the steps of: (a) cleaning, (a-1) electrochemically cleaning, (b) introducing, (c) electrografting, (d) stripping and (e) performing as presently claimed, esp., the step of (a-1) electrochemically cleaning the plasma-cleaned electrode surface prior to step (b), wherein the electrochemically cleaning is performed in the presence of p-toluenesulfonic acid. Therefore, a person skilled in the art would not have been motivated to adopt the above conditions, and a prima facie case of obviousness cannot be established.
CN 108774588 does not teach electrochemically cleaning wherein the electrochemically cleaning is performed in the presence of p-toluenesulfonic acid. CN 108774588 teaches a glass cleaning agent, which comprises 0.4-1 parts by mass of isomers of toluenesulfonic acid; wherein, among the isomers, the mass ratio of o-toluenesulfonic acid, p-toluenesulfonic acid and m-toluenesulfonic acid is 1/(4-9)/(2-5) [ρ [0008]]. The cleaning agent is used to wipe the glass (ρ [0020]).
Response to Amendment
This application is in condition for allowance except for the presence of claims 10 and 22-23 (product = coated electrode) directed to an invention non-elected with traverse in the reply filed on April 17, 2025.
A complete reply to the final rejection must include cancellation of nonelected claims or
other appropriate action. See MPEP § 821.01.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of
the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EDNA WONG whose telephone number is (571) 272-1349. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 7:00 AM- 3:30 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Luan Van can be reached at (571) 272-8521. 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.
/EDNA WONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1795
Prosecution Insights