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 .
Claims 1-9, 11, and 16-20 are pending and under consideration.
Information Disclosure Statement
Reference CH (Schilling et al.) was not considered as it was not in English. See MPEP 609.01 (B)(3) or 37 CFR 1.98.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to (e.g., page 12) because it contains an embedded hyperlink and/or other form of browser-executable code. Applicant is required to delete the embedded hyperlinks and/or other form of browser-executable codes; references to websites should be limited to the top-level domain name without any prefix such as http:// or other browser-executable code. See MPEP § 608.01.
Drawings
Figure 2 is objected to because for recitation of amino acid sequences in the absence of a sequence identifier. See 37 CFR 1.821(c). 37 CFR 1.821(c) requires that patent applications which contain disclosures of nucleotide and/or amino acid sequences that fall within the definitions of 37 CFR 1.821(a) must contain a "Sequence Listing," as a separate part of the disclosure, which presents the nucleotide and/or amino acid sequences and associated information using the symbols and format in accordance with the requirements of 37 CFR 1.821 - 1.825.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is confusing because there is a large blank space in the second to last line. This is confusing because it separates the recitation of the CDRs sequence identifiers. The preference is that applicants amend the last line and move “to 7.” so that it appears as:
“SEQ ID NOs:5 to 7”.
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.
Claims 5-6, and 8 are 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.
Regarding claims 5-6, 8 the phrases "preferably," or “more preferably” or “even more preferably” renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitation(s) following the phrase are actually part of the claimed invention. As such, these phrases create ambiguity as to whether or not the alternatives are distinct limitations. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-4, 9, 11, and 16-20 are allowed.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GARY B NICKOL, Ph.D. whose telephone number is (571)272-0835. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9AM-5:30PM.
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, Julie Wu can be reached at 571-272-5205. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GARY B NICKOL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1643
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