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
Claims 1-20 are pending. Note that, Applicant’s response filed July 1, 2026, has been entered.
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-19, in the reply filed on July 1, 2026, is acknowledged.
Claim 20 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 July 1, 2026.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. With respect to instant claim 15, this claim is dependent upon instant claim 1, wherein instant claim 1 recites “characterised in that the alkyl chains of the alkyl sulfate anionic surfactant have a %mol fraction of C12 to C15 chains of at least about 90%”; instant claim 15 recites that “wherein the average alkyl chain length of the alkyl sulfated anionic surfactant is from 10 to 14 carbon atoms”, which does not further limit instant claim 1. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over EP 3,456,799.
With respect to independent, instant claim 1, ‘799 teaches a liquid hand dishwashing cleaning composition including a surfactant system, wherein the surfactant system includes an anionic surfactant and a co-surfactant, wherein the anionic surfactant includes a mixture of a linear anionic surfactant and a branched anionic surfactant. See Abstract. More specifically, ‘799 teaches a liquid hand dishwashing cleaning composition comprising from 1 % to 60%, preferably from 5% to 50%, more preferably from 8 % to 45%, most preferably from 15% to 40%, by weight of the total composition of a surfactant system comprising an anionic surfactant and a co-surfactant. The anionic surfactant has an average alkyl chain length of from 8 to 18, preferably from 10 to 14, more preferably from 12 to 14, most preferably tram 12 to 13 carbon atoms. The anionic surfactant has a weight average degree of branching of from 35% to 60%, preferably from 38% to 55%, most preferably from 40% to 50%, and an average degree of ethoxylation of less than 5, preferably less than 3, more preferably less than 2 and more than 0.5, most preferably between 0.5 and 0.9. The anionic surfactant comprises an alkyl sulfate, an alkyl alkoxy sulfate preferably an alkyl ethoxy sulfate, or mixtures thereof. See para. 5. Preferably, the branched alkyl ethoxy sulfate surfactant of the present invention comprises at least 5%, more preferably at least 10%, by weight of the branched alkyl ethoxy sulfate surfactant of an alkyl ethoxy sulfate surfactant with the branching on the C2 position, Preferably. the branched alkyl ethoxy sulfate surfactant comprises at least 90%, more preferably 100%, by weight of the branched alkyl ethoxy sulfate surfactant of an alkyl ethoxy sulfate surfactant with the branching on the C2 position. Preferably, the branched alkyl sulfate surfactant preferably comprises at least 5%, more preferably at least 10%, even more preferably at least 20%, most preferably at least 30%, by weight of the branched alkyl sulfate surfactant of a branched alkyl sulfate surfactant with the branching on the C2 position Preferably, the branched alkyl sulfate surfactant comprises at least 90%, more preferably 100% by weight of the branched alkyl sulfate surfactant of a branched
alkyI sulfate surfactant with the branching on the C2 position. Preferably, the branched alkyl group of the branched anionic surfactant is predominantly, preferably greater
than 75%, more preferably greater than 90%, of the total branched alkyl content, of a C1-C5 alkyl moiety, preferably a C1-C2 alkyl moiety. See para. 40. Note that, the Examiner asserts that the broad teachings of ‘799 clearly suggest alkyl sulfate surfactants having the same content and/or mixture of C12, C13, C14,and C15 alkyl groups and degree of branching on the specific alkyl groups as recited by the instant claims.
Preferably, the amine oxide surfactant is alkyl dimethyl amine oxide or alkyl amido propyl dimethyl amine oxide, preferably alkyl dimethyl amine oxide and especially coco dimethyl amino oxide, most preferably C12-C14 alkyl dimethyl amine oxide. See para. 43.
Nonetheless it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to formulate a composition containing an alkyl sulfate surfactant having a specific branching and chain length distribution, a cosurfactant, and the other requisite components of the composition in the specific amounts as recited by independent, instant claim 1 and the respective dependent claims., with a reasonable expectation of success and similar results with respect to other disclosed components, because the broad teachings of ‘799 suggest a composition containing an alkyl sulfate surfactant having a specific branching and chain length distribution, a cosurfactant, and the other requisite components of the composition in the specific amounts as recited by independent, instant claim 1 and the respective dependent claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Remaining references cited but not relied upon are considered to be cumulative to or less pertinent than those relied upon or discussed above.
Applicant is reminded that any evidence to be presented in accordance with 37 CFR 1.131 or 1.132 should be submitted before final rejection in order to be considered timely.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GREGORY R DEL COTTO whose telephone number is (571)272-1312. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 8:30am-6:00pm, EST.
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, Angela Brown-Pettigrew can be reached at (571) 272-2817. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GREGORY R DELCOTTO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1761
/G.R.D/August 20, 2026
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