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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Previous Rejections
Applicants' arguments, filed 06/19/26, have been fully considered. Rejections and/or objections not reiterated from previous office actions are hereby withdrawn. The following rejections and/or objections are either reiterated or newly applied. They constitute the complete set presently being applied to the instant application.
Claim 22 is objected to for not ending in a period after the sentence.
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.
Claims 1-8, 10, 16 and 21-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable Mould et al. (WO 94/16680) in view of Dixon et al. (GB2297762) and further in view of Hutton et al. (US PG Pub. 2018/0098923A1).
Mould discloses a hydratable concentrated surfactant personal washing composition comprising 36 wt% sodium laureth ether sulphate (SLES) anionic surfactant, 9 wt% cocamidopropyl betaine (CAPB) cosurfactant (claim 2), 2 wt% sodium chloride ("a "viscosity modifier" and a "metal chloride" and 49.1 wt% water to balance, the foregoing amounts being within the ranges recited by claim 1 and which results in a weight ratio of anionic surfactant to cosurfactant of 36:9 or 4:1, which is within the ranges of claims 1. The composition further may comprise a preservative such as sodium benzoate in the amount of 0.5-5 wt% (page 9, first two paragraphs). The use of 3 wt% sodium benzoate, 36% sodium laureth sulphate, and 9 wt% cocamidopropyl betaine results in a ratio of 3:45 or 1:15. The composition is in a lamellar phase (page 3, lines 12-13).
The claimed viscosity is not taught by the reference.
Dixon discloses personal cleansing compositions such as shampoos comprising surfactants (Abstract) such as betaines or sodium laureth sulfates (page 10) and additional ingredients such as sodium benzoate as a preservative (page 18, 1st full paragraph) and ethylene diaminetetraacetic acid as a calcium and magnesium ion sequestrant to provide lather boosting properties under hard water usage conditions (paragraph bridging pages 17-18). The composition may be lamellar (page 9, 1st paragraph). The pH of the composition is adjusted to about 4-8 using a buffer system (page 18, 2ⁿᵈ full paragraph). The compositions have a viscosity of 10,000-40,000 cps (page 2, last paragraph).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the present invention to modify the personal washing composition of Mould by selecting a viscosity and pH within the range of claim 1, because Dixon teaches that personal cleansing compositions comprising betaines, sodium laureth sulfates, and/or sodium benzoate suitably may have a viscosity and pH within the claimed range such that the skilled artisan reasonably would have expected that such viscosities and pH values would be appropriate for the Mould personal cleansing composition. Discovering optimum or working ranges involves only routine skill in art in cases where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art. In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955).
The references discussed above do not teach use of the polyols.
Hutton et al. discloses a personal care compositions substantially free of sulfated surfactants and containing a gel network, see title. Hutton et al. teaches a personal care composition free of sulfated surfactants, see [0004]. The reference discloses aqueous compositions comprising sodium cocoyl isethionate (a sulfate free anionic surfactant as claimed in subsection a) of claim1), disodium laureth sulfosuccinate, sodium lauroyl sarcosinate, cocamidopropyl betaine (amphoteric surfactant as claimed in instant claim 1 in subsection b)), ethylene glycol distearate, disodium EDTA, decyl glucoside, sodium chloride and sodium xylene sulfonate, which is one of the well-known hydrotopes, see tables (tables 3 and 4). Surfactant like taurate can be added, see [0199]. Paragraph [0168] specifies that sodium chloride as well as sodium xylene sulfonates are two possible viscosity modifiers. Suitable suspending agents taught are hydroxy ethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, starch-based polymers such as carboxymethyl starch and also starches (rice, corn, potato and wheat), see [0162[-[0163]. (reads on the claimed first viscosity modifiers). The reference teaches use of suspending agents for modifying the viscosity of the compositions ranging from about 0.1% to about 10% by weight of the compositions, see [0158]. The amount of first viscosity modifier overlaps with the claimed amount. The prior art does not disclose the exact claimed values, but does overlap: in such instances even a slight overlap in range establishes a prima facie case of obviousness. MPEP 2144.05 A. Accordingly, since an overlap plainly exists here, it would have been obvious to have selected values within the overlap, consistent with the reasoning of the obviousness above. Liquid carrier from about 20% to about 95% can be added including water, see [0070] and [0072].The reference teaches that rheology modifiers can be added, see [0074] and [0168] and the personal care composition can have an appropriate viscosity and rheology, see [0071]. Additional agents such as propylene glycol can be added, see [0148]. Propylene glycol reads on polyol as claimed. Suitable humectants such as polyhydric alcohols can be added including glycerin, sorbitol, propylene glycol and the amount of the humectants ranges from about 0.1% to about 20%, see [0160] and [0159]. Thus, the reference teaches use of polyol (which reads on the second viscosity modifier). Preservatives can be added, see [0172]. The reference teaches pH adjusting agents can be added, see [0074]. The reference teaches that the charge densities can be measured at the pH of intended use of the personal care composition. (e.g., at about pH 3 to about pH 9; or about pH 4 to about pH 8), see [0078]. Lamellar form of the composition is taught in [0046/47] and [0053]. Isotropic formation is taught in [0048].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have utilized the additional agents such as propylene glycol wherein the propylene glycol reads on polyol as claimed and as taught by Hutton et al. One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to do so because Hutton while teaching personal care composition and various surfactants teaches use of viscosity modifiers including cellulose and polyols for modifying viscosities of the composition. Suitable humectants such as polyhydric alcohols can be added including glycerin, sorbitol, propylene glycol and the amount of the humectants ranges from about 0.1% to about 20%, see [0160] and [0159]. Thus, the reference teaches use of polyol (which reads on the second viscosity modifier). Generally, it is prima facie obvious to select a known material for incorporation into a composition, based on its recognized suitability for its intended use. See MPEP 2144.07.
Applicant’s arguments are moot in view of new rejections made above necessitated by claim amendments.
Action is final
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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.
Correspondence
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/SNIGDHA MAEWALL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1612
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