Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/835,293

MONOCOT LEAF EXPLANT PREPARATION

Final Rejection §103
Filed
Aug 01, 2024
Priority
Feb 03, 2022 — provisional 63/306,338 +1 more
Examiner
FAN, WEIHUA
Art Unit
1663
Tech Center
1600 — Biotechnology & Organic Chemistry
Assignee
Pioneer Hi-bred International Inc.
OA Round
2 (Final)
83%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
7m
Est. Remaining
95%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 83% — above average
83%
Career Allowance Rate
537 granted / 646 resolved
+23.1% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+12.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
46 currently pending
Career history
682
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.6%
-39.4% vs TC avg
§103
35.4%
-4.6% vs TC avg
§102
10.3%
-29.7% vs TC avg
§112
28.6%
-11.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 646 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . This is a Final Office Action in response to amendment filed on May 8, 2026. Claims 7 and 15 are cancelled. Claims 1, 2, 4, and 9 are amended. New claim 16 is added. Claims 1-6, 8-14, and 16 are pending and examined herein. Response to Amendment The rejections of claims 1-15 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) are withdrawn in view of amendment to the claims and after full consideration of Applicant’s argument. In particular, the rejection to claim 7 over the term “food processor” is withdrawn in view of Applicant’s narrow interpretation proffered in the Remarks of May 8, 2026. The rejections of claims 1-6, 8-9 and 13-14 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) over Park is withdrawn in view of amendment to the claims. 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 1-6 and 8, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over [ Park, Sunjung. Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) leaf disks: Evaluation of the co-cultivation conditions to increase Β-glucuronidase gene activity. Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College, 2006. ] in view of [ Chen (US6051756A, 2000) ]. Claims 1-6 and 8 and the teachings of Park has been presented previously. Park does not teach the mechanical means using a blender of food processor. Chen teaches a Brassica transformation processes using a grinding tissue preparation method (Example 2), which comprises germinating seeds, isolating seedling upper portions that contain two cotyledons and a shoot tip, which reads on harvesting “seedling leaves”. The method comprises grinding upper portion into a cellular slurry using a blender. It would have been prima facie obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art to have adopted the mechanical maceration method of Chen in the method of Park to have arrived at the instantly claimed method, The PHOSITA would have been motivated to do so given the advantages taught by Chen. The PHOSITA would have had reasonable expectation of success given the teachings and success of Park and Chen. The claimed invention as a whole is prima facie obvious over the combined teachings of the prior art. Conclusion 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. No claims are allowed. Claims 1-6 and 8 are rejected. Claims 9-14 and 16 are objected for being dependent on rejected base claims. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WEIHUA FAN whose telephone number is (571)270-0398. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9-5. 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, Amjad A Abraham can be reached at (571) 270-7058. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. WEIHUA . FAN Primary Examiner Art Unit 1663 /WEIHUA FAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1663
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Aug 01, 2024
Application Filed
Jan 08, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
May 08, 2026
Response Filed
Jul 01, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12677771
LETTUCE VARIETY 42-BU1212 RZ
2y 11m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12677773
PLANTS AND SEEDS OF CORN VARIETY CV844363
2y 6m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12677770
PLANTS AND SEEDS OF CORN VARIETY CV625976
2y 6m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12677774
PLANTS AND SEEDS OF CORN VARIETY CV998054
2y 6m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12677776
PLANTS AND SEEDS OF HYBRID CORN VARIETY CH010515
2y 6m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
83%
Grant Probability
95%
With Interview (+12.2%)
2y 6m (~7m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 646 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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