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 .
112 Rejections Withdrawn
The rejection of claims 13-21 under 35 USC 112(a) or 35 USC 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, outlined in the previous Office Action, has been overcome by inventor’s amendment. With respect to claims 18 and 19, the amendment cancels the claims. With respect to the remaining claims, the amendment narrows the scope of the claimed subject matter such that it is now enabled.
102 Rejections Withdrawn
The rejection of claims 13, 14 and 20 under 35 USC 102(a)(1), outlined in the previous Office Action, has been overcome by inventor’s amendment. The amendment narrows the scope of the claimed subject matter such that it no longer reads on the cited art.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102, NEW
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.
Claim 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being clearly anticipated by Bioscience of Microbiota, Food and Health (2019), 38(1), pp. 23-29.
The reference teaches a method of preparing a composition comprising a step of preparing membrane vesicles (i.e. extracellular vesicles) derived from a Lactobacillus sakei subspecies (abstract).
The examiner notes that the intended use of the instant composition (“…for alleviating or treating an autoimmune disease…” can be given no patentable weight because where the claimed and prior art products are identical or substantially identical in structure or composition, or are produced by identical or substantially identical processes, a prima facie case of either anticipation or obviousness has been established. In the instant case, the instant claimed method step of preparing the composition is identical to that of the prior art method, and the composition thus prepared must necessarily exhibit the same properties. (MPEP 2112.01 (I).)
This rejection should have been included in the previous Office Action. The examiner regrets the inconvenience to applicant.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 13-17, 20 and 22 are allowed. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The closest prior art remains the prior art of record. During the course of prosecution, inventor has narrowed the scope of the claimed subject matter such that it no longer reads on the cited art.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRIAN J DAVIS whose telephone number is (571)272-0638. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5:00 PM EST.
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/BRIAN J DAVIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1614 2/3/2026