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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I drawn to a composition comprising a solvent and ether derivative of an alpha-glucan in the reply filed on 11 June 2026 is acknowledged.
Claim 18 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 11 June 2026.
Claims 1-13, 15-16, and 19-23 are examined on the merits herein.
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 1-5, 8-13, 15-16, and 19-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang et al. (US 2020/0002646 cited on Applicant’s IDS filed 12 June 2026).
Claim 1 is drawn to a composition comprising at least a solvent and an ether derivative of an alpha-glucan, wherein
at least about 90% of the glycosidic linkages of the alpha-glucan are alpha-1,6 linkages, and the alpha-glucan comprises at least 1% alpha-1,2 and/or alpha-1,3 branches,
the alpha-glucan has a weight-average molecular weight (Mw) of about 1kDa to about 500 kDa,
the alpha-glucan has a degree of substitution (DoS) of about 0.01 to about 3.0 with at least one positively charged organic group that is ether-linked to the alpha-glucan, and
the solvent comprises water and at least about 40% (v/v) of a polar organic solvent;
wherein at least about 30% of the ether derivative is dissolved and/or stably dispersed in the solvent.
Claims 2 and 19 are drawn to the composition of claim 1, wherein the polar organic solvent is ethanol.
Claims 3 and 20 are drawn to the composition of claim 1, wherein the composition comprises at least about 67% (v/v) of the polar organic solvent.
Claim 5 is drawn to the composition of claim 1 where at least about 30% of the ether derivative by weight is dissolved in the solvent.
Claim 8 is drawn to the composition of claim 1, wherein the alpha-glucan comprises said at least 1% alpha-1,2 branches.
Claim 9 is drawn to the composition of claim 1, wherein the alpha-glucan has an Mw of about 100 kDa to about 300 kDa.
Claims 10 and 22 are drawn to the composition of claim 1, wherein the DoS is at least about 0.05.
Claims 11-12 are drawn to the composition of claim 1, wherein the positively charged organic group comprises a quaternary ammonium group.
Huang et al. teach compositions comprising poly alpha-1,6-glucan derivatives containing a hydrophilic group (Abstract) further teaching poly alpha-1,6-glucans comprising a backbone of glucose monomer units wherein 90% or more glucose monomers are linked via alpha-1,6-glycosidic linkages (Par. [0099], claim 4) and 10% or less of alpha-1,2-branching (Par. [0101], claim 5), wherein the alpha-glucan has a degree of polymerization in the range of 4 to 1400 (Par. [0098]), corresponding to a molecular weight of 0.72kDa to 252kDa. Huang et al. further teach a degree of substitution between 0.001 and 3.0 (Claim 15), additionally teaching the hydrophilic group comprising a quaternary amine linked to the poly glucan via an ether linkage (Par. [0131]). Further, Huang et al. teach compositions of the poly glucan in aqueous-alcoholic solutions comprising 1 to 75% ethanol by weight (Par. [0195]), corresponding to an ethanol content of 1.25% to 87% (v/v) as calculated by examiner, overlapping with the instantly claimed range; additionally teaching the poly alpha glucans as being dissolved or dispersed in aqueous solution (Pars. [0077] and [0179]).
Huang et al. are silent as to the extent to which the ether derivative is soluble in the solvent and the stability of the ether derivative in the solvent.
However, as discussed in MPEP 2112.01(II), "Products of identical chemical composition can not have mutually exclusive properties." In re Spada, 911 F.2d 705, 709, 15 USPQ2d 1655, 1658 (Fed. Cir. 1990). A chemical composition and its properties are inseparable. Therefore, if the prior art teaches the identical chemical structure, the properties applicant discloses and/or claims are necessarily present. Id.
In the instant case, the solubility and stability of the ether derivative in the solvent are properties inherent to the compound as evidenced by the instant specification in Examples 8-9. As Huang et al. teach the claimed structure of the ether derivative, the instantly claimed solubility and stability in the solvent is necessarily present.
As such, claims 1-3, 5, 8-12, 19-20, and 22 are rejected as prima facie obvious.
Claim 4 is drawn to the composition of claim 1, wherein the composition comprises at least 0.1 wt% of the ether derivative.
Claim 21 is drawn to the composition of claim 4, wherein the composition comprises 0.1 wt% to about 10 wt% of the ether derivative.
Huang et al. further teaches compositions comprising 0.1 wt% to about 10 wt% of the poly alpha glucan (Par. [0026]).
As such, claims 4 and 21 are rejected as prima facie obvious.
Claim 13 is drawn to the composition of claim 12, wherein the quaternary ammonium group comprises three C1-C4 groups.
Huang et al. further teaches the quaternary ammonium group comprising a trimethylammonium group (Par. [0134]).
As such, claim 13 is rejected as prima facie obvious.
Claim 15 is drawn to the composition of claim 1, wherein the composition is a hair care product.
Claim 16 is drawn to the composition of claim 15, wherein the hair care product is a hair styling product, optionally wherein the hair styling product is a spray, gel/lotion, or mousse/foam.
Huang et al. further teach the composition being a hair spray or foam (Par. [0190]).
As such, claims 15-16 are rejected as prima facie obvious.
Claims 6-7 and 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang et al. as applied to claims 1-5, 8-13, 15-16, and 19-22 above, and further in view of D’Arrigo et al. (WO2020/187791).
The teachings of Huang et al. have been set forth above.
Claim 6 is drawn to the composition of claim 1, wherein the composition has a turbidity of less than 200 NTU.
Claim 7 is drawn to the composition of claim 6, wherein the composition has a turbidity of less than 20 NTU.
Huang et al. are silent as to the turbidity of the composition.
However, Huang et al. teach aqueous compositions of alpha glucans being transparent (Par. [0322]).
D’Arrigo et al. teach aqueous personal care compositions (Abstract) including hair styling formulations (Pg. 14 lines 10-20). D’Arrigo et al. further teach transparent aqueous care compositions as being aesthetically desirable in the field of cosmetics (Pg. 1 lines 11-14), further teaching a turbidity preferably less than 40 NTU.
And, as discussed by MPEP 2144.05, “[g]enerally, differences in concentration or temperature will not support the patentability of subject matter encompassed by the prior art unless there is evidence indicating such concentration or temperature is critical” (see also In re Aller (220 F.2d 454)): “where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation…” Indeed, as further discussed by the court, “[s]uch experimentation is no more than the application of the expected skill of the [ordinarily skilled artisan] and failure to perform such experiments would, in our opinion, show a want of the expected skill”; see also In re Peterson, 315 F.3d at 1325 (Fed. Cir. 2005): “[t]he normal desire of scientists or artisans to improve upon what is already generally known provides the motivation to determine where in a disclosed set of percentage ranges is the optimum combination of percentages” and “[o]nly if the ‘results of optimizing a variable’ are ‘unexpectedly good’ can a patent be obtained for the claimed critical range” (quoting In re Antonie (559 F.2d 618 (CCPA 1977))).
In the instant case, the turbidity of the composition is clearly a result-effective variable, determining the aesthetic attractiveness of the composition. Accordingly, it would have been customary for an artisan of ordinary skill in the art to determine the optimal turbidity in order to best achieve the desired results.
As such, claims 6-7 are rejected as prima facie obvious.
Claim 23 is drawn to the composition of claim 6, wherein the composition has said turbidity of less than 200 NTU for at least about 0.5 day.
The turbidity of the composition over time is an indication of the stability of the poly alpha glucan dissolved in the solvent as disclosed in the instant specification at pg. 64. As discussed in MPEP 2112.01(II), "Products of identical chemical composition can not have mutually exclusive properties." In re Spada, 911 F.2d 705, 709, 15 USPQ2d 1655, 1658 (Fed. Cir. 1990). A chemical composition and its properties are inseparable. Therefore, if the prior art teaches the identical chemical structure, the properties applicant discloses and/or claims are necessarily present. Id.
In the instant case, the solubility and stability of the ether derivative in the solvent are properties inherent to the compound as evidenced by the instant specification in Examples 8-9. As Huang et al. teach the claimed structure of the ether derivative, the instantly claimed solubility and stability in the solvent and consequently the instantly claimed turbidity over time is necessarily present.
As such, claim 23 is rejected as prima facie obvious.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-5, 8-13, 15-16, and 19-22 rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 31, 33-34, 38, and 48-49 of U.S. Patent No. 11,066,626 in view of Helen et al. (JP2020041150).
Claims 31 and 33-34 of Patent ‘626 recite a composition comprising a polysaccharide derivative comprising a polysaccharide substituted with at least one hydrophobic group and at least one hydrophilic group, wherein the polysaccharide is a poly alpha-1,6-glucan that comprises a backbone of glucose monomer units of which greater than or equal to 90% are linked via alpha-1,6-glycosidic linkages, wherein the poly alpha-1,6-glucan has alpha-1,2-branching, wherein the degree of branching is less than 50%. Claim 38 of Patent ‘626 recites the composition of claim 31, wherein the hydrophilic group comprises an alkyl-substituted ammonium salt. Claim 48 of Patent ‘626 is drawn to the composition of claim 31, wherein the polysaccharide has a degree of polymerization of about 5 to 1400, corresponding to a molecular weight of 0.9kDa to 252kDa. Claim 49 of Patent ‘626 recites the composition of claim 31, wherein the polysaccharide derivative has a degree of substitution of about 0.001 to about 3.0. Patent ‘626 does not recite the positively charged group being ether linked to the alpha-glucan or the composition comprising a solvent of water and a polar organic solvent.
Helen et al. teach compositions comprising poly alpha-1,6-glucan derivatives (Abstract), further teaching ether moieties as being a suitable linkage for connecting alkyl-substituted ammonium salt groups to the poly alpha glucan (Pg. 14 par. 1). Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the composition of Patent ‘626 to comprise an ether linkage. It would have been obvious to combine the known alkyl ammonium salt containing poly alpha glucan with the known use of an ether linkage for connecting alkyl-substituted ammonium salt groups to poly alpha glucans to yield the predictable result of an alkyl ammonium salt containing poly alpha glucan, with a reasonable expectation of success.
Helen et al. further teach the poly alpha-1,6-glucan compositions as personal care products including hair sprays (Pg. 21 pars. 4-5), further teaching hair care compositions utilizing a water and ethanol solution as the solvent, wherein the ethanol is present in the amount of 1 to 75% by weight (Pg. 22 par. 3), corresponding to 1.25% to 87% (v/v) of ethanol as calculated by examiner. Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the composition of Patent ‘626 to comprise a solvent comprising water and at least 40% (v/v) of ethanol as taught by Helen et al. It would have been obvious to combine the known poly alpha-1,6-glucan with the known solvent for poly alpha-1,6-glucan hair products to yield the predictable result of a poly alpha-1,6-glucan hair product, with a reasonable expectation of success. Helen et al. further teach the poly alpha glucans as being dissolved or dispersed in aqueous solution (Pg. 7 par. 10 and pg. 20 par. 4).
Regarding instant claims 4 and 21, Patent ‘626 is silent as to the amount of the ether derivative in the composition. However, Helen et al. teach 0.1% to 10% by weight as being a suitable amount of the poly glucan in compositions (Pg. 4 par. 7). Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the composition of Patent ‘626 to comprise 0.1 wt% to 10 wt% of the poly alpha glucan as taught by Helen et al. It would have been obvious to combine the known poly glucan composition with the known amount of poly glucan taught to be suitable in compositions, with a reasonable expectation of success.
As such, claims 31, 33-34, 38, and 48-49 in view of Helen et al. render instant claims 1-5, 8-13, 15-16, and 19-22 obvious.
Claims 1-5, 8-13, 15-16, and 19-22 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 4, 11-12, 16-17, and 21-22 of copending Application No. 18/576,406 in view of Huang et al. (US 2020/0002646 cited on Applicant’s IDS filed 12 June 2026).
Claims 1, 4, and 21 of Application ‘406 recite a composition comprising an ester derivative of a glucan, wherein the glucan has a degree of substitution of 0.005 to 3.0 with at least one cationic organic group that is ester-linked to the glucan, wherein the glucan has a weight-average degree of polymerization of at least 6, corresponding to a molecular weight of at least 1kDa, and wherein the glucan is an alpha glucan wherein at least 90% of the glycosidic linkages are alpha-1,6 linkages. Claim 22 of Application ‘406 recites the composition of claim 21, wherein the alpha glucan comprises at least 1% alpha-1,2 branches. Claim 16 of Application ‘406 recites the composition of claim 1, wherein the composition is an aqueous composition. Claim 17 of Application ‘406 recites the composition as a personal care product. Application ‘406 does not recite the positively charge group being ether-linked to the alpha-glucan, the composition comprising at least 40% (v/v) of a polar organic solvent, or at least 30% of the ether derivative dissolved or dispersed in the solvent.
Huang et al. also teach poly alpha-1,6-glucan derivatives (Abstract), further teaching both ester and ether linkages as suitable linkages for hydrophilic groups (Par. [0082]). Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the glucan derivative of Application ‘406 to have an ether linkage as taught by Huang et al. It would have been obvious to substitute one moiety suitable for linking hydrophilic groups to glucans for another, with a reasonable expectation of success.
Huang et al. additionally teach compositions comprising the glucan derivatives in aqueous-alcoholic solutions, the alcohol preferably being ethanol present in about 1 to 75wt% (Par. [0195]) for hair care. Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the composition of Application ‘406 to comprise ethanol as taught by Huang et al. as it is taught to be a suitable solvent for hair care products, with a reasonable expectation of success. Further, Huang et al. teach the poly alpha glucans as being dissolved or dispersed in aqueous solution (Pars. [0077] and [0179]).
Regarding instant claims 4 and 21, Application ‘406 is silent as to the amount of the ether derivative in the composition. However, Huang et al. teach 0.1% to 10% by weight as being a suitable amount of the poly glucan in compositions (Par. [0038]). Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the composition of Application ‘406 to comprise 0.1 wt% to 10 wt% of the poly alpha glucan as taught by Huang et al. It would have been obvious to combine the known poly glucan composition with the known amount of poly glucan taught to be suitable in compositions, with a reasonable expectation of success.
As such, claims 1, 4, 16-17, and 21-22 of Application ‘406 in view of Huang et al. render instant claims 1-5, 8-10, 15-16, and 19-22 obvious.
Claims 11-12 of Application ‘406 recite the composition of claim 1, wherein the cationic organic group is a quaternary amine having three methyl groups, rendering instant claims 11-13 obvious.
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection.
Claims 1-5, 8-13, 15-16, and 19-22 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-4, 7, 9, and 12-13 of copending Application No. 18/704,557 in view of Huang et al. (US 2020/0002646 cited on Applicant’s IDS filed 12 June 2026).
Claims 1-2 of Application ‘557 recite a composition comprising a derivative of an alpha glucan wherein at least about 90% of the glycosidic linkages are alpha-1,6 linkages and the alpha-glucan has a degree of substitution of about 0.001 to about 3.0 with at least one positively charged organic group. Claim 3 of Application ‘557 recites the composition of claim 1, wherein the alpha-glucan comprises at least 1% alpha-1,2 and/or alpha-1,3 branches. Claim 4 of Application ‘557 recites the composition of claim 1, wherein the alpha-glucan has a molecular weight of about 10 kDa to about 2000 kDa. Claim 6 recites the composition of claim 1, wherein the positively charged organic group is ether linked to the alpha-glucan. Claim 12 of Application ‘557 recites the composition of claim 1, wherein the composition is an aqueous composition. Claim 13 of Application ‘557 recites the composition of claim 1, wherein the composition is a personal care product. Application ‘557 does not recite the composition comprising at least 40% (v/v) of a polar organic solvent.
Huang et al. teach compositions comprising the glucan derivatives in aqueous-alcoholic solutions, the alcohol preferably being ethanol present in about 1 to 75wt% (Par. [0195]) for hair care. Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the personal care composition of Application ‘557 to comprise ethanol as taught by Huang et al. as it is taught to be a suitable solvent for hair care products, with a reasonable expectation of success. Further, Huang et al. teach the poly alpha glucans as being dissolved or dispersed in aqueous solution (Pars. [0077] and [0179]).
Regarding instant claims 4 and 21, Application ‘557 is silent as to the amount of the ether derivative in the composition. However, Huang et al. teach 0.1% to 10% by weight as being a suitable amount of the poly glucan in compositions (Par. [0038]). Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the composition of Application ‘557 to comprise 0.1 wt% to 10 wt% as taught by Huang et al. It would have been obvious to combine the known poly glucan composition with the known amount of poly glucan taught to be suitable in compositions, with a reasonable expectation of success.
As such, claims 1-4 and 12-13 of Application ‘557 in view of Huang et al. render instant claims 1-5, 8-10, 15-16, and 19-22 obvious.
Claims 7 and 9 of Application ‘557 recites the composition of claim 1, wherein the positively charged organic group comprises a substituted ammonium group wherein the positively charge organic group comprises a C4 to C20 alkyl group, rendering instant claims 11-13 obvious.
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection.
Claims 1-13, 15-16, and 19-23 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 3, 8-9, 11, 15-17, 19, and 21 of copending Application No. 19/131,604in view of Huang et al. (US 2020/0002646 cited on Applicant’s IDS filed 12 June 2026).
Claim 1 of Application ‘604 recites a method utilizing a liquid composition comprising a solvent and alpha-glucan derivative, wherein at least about 90% of the glycosidic linkages of the alpha-glucan derivative are alpha-1,6 linkages, the alpha-glucan derivative has a degree of substitution of at least about 0.04 with at least one organic group that comprises a hydrophobic group and a hydrophilic group, and the solvent comprises water and a polar organic solvent. Claim 3 of Application ‘604 recites the method of claim 1, wherein the alpha-glucan derivative comprises at least 1% alpha-1,2 and/or alpha-1,3 branches. Claim 8 of Application ‘604 recites the method of claim 1, wherein the hydrophilic group is positively charged. Claim 11 of Application ‘604 recites the method of claim 1 wherein the organic group is in ether linkage to the alpha-glucan derivative. Claim 15 of Application ‘604 recites the solvent comprising 20% (v/v) to 95% (v/v) of the polar organic solvent. Application ‘604 does not recite the alpha-glucan having a molecular weight between 1kDa and 500 kDa or at least 30% of the ether derivative dissolved or dispersed in the solvent.
Huang et al. also teach poly alpha-1,6-glucan derivatives (Abstract) that are useful in surface coating for forming films (Par. [0077]), further teaching a degree of polymerization for poly alpha-1,6-glucans of between 500 to 900 (Par. [0098]), corresponding to a molecular weight of about 90kDa to 162kDa, overlapping with the instantly claimed range. Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the poly alpha-glucan of Application ‘604 to have a molecular weight between 1kDa and 500 kDa as taught by Huang et al. It would have been obvious to combine the known alpha glucan for a film coating with the known molecular weight of poly alpha glucans suitable for film coatings to yield the predictable result of a poly alpha glucan suitable for forming a film coating, with a reasonable expectation of success. Further, Huang et al. teach the poly alpha glucans as being dissolved or dispersed in aqueous solution (Pars. [0077] and [0179]).
Regarding instant claims 15-16, Application ‘604 does not recite the composition as a hair care product. However, Huang et al. further teach aqueous-alcohol solutions of poly glucans as hair care products (Par. [0195]) including a spray (Par. [0190]). Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the composition of Application ‘604 to be a hair spray as taught by Huang et al. It would have been obvious to combine the known composition with the known use of similar compositions in hair care to yield the predictable result of a hair spray, with a reasonable expectation of success.
As such, claims 1, 3, 8, 11, and 15 of Application ‘604 in view of Huang et al. render instant claims 1, 3, 5, 8-10, 15-16, 20, and 22 obvious.
Claim 9 of Application ‘604 recites the method of claim 8, wherein the positively charged group comprises a tertiary or quaternary ammonium group, rendering instant claims 11-13 obvious.
Claim 16 of Application ‘604 recites the method of claim 1, wherein the polar organic solvent is ethanol, rendering instant claims 2 and 19 obvious.
Claim 17 of Application ‘604 recites the method of claim 1, wherein the composition comprises less than 20 wt% of the alpha-glucan derivative, overlapping with the instantly claimed ranges of more than 0.1 wt% and between 0.1wt% and 10wt%, rendering instant claims 4 and 21 obvious.
Claim 19 of Application ‘604 recites the method of claim 1, wherein the liquid composition has a turbidity of less than 200 NTU, rendering instant claims 6 and 23 obvious.
Claim 21 of Application ‘604 recites the method of claim 19, wherein the liquid composition has a turbidity of less than 20 NTU, rendering instant claim 7 obvious.
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection.
Conclusion
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/BETHANY P BARHAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1611
/PAUL HOERNER/Examiner, Art Unit 1611
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