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 1-11 are pending. Claims 1, 6, and 7 are examined on the merits. Claims 2-5 and 8-11 are withdrawn.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 2-4 and 8-11 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 9/10/2026.
Applicant's election with traverse of Claim 6 in the reply filed on 9/10/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that “improving a skin condition” would include “skin roughness, stability of skin condition, skin tightness, skin sallowness, skin glossiness and brightness, skin tenderness and smoothness, skin sensitivity or skin moisture”. This is not found persuasive because a search of one group is not coextensive with the search of the other groups. A method of treating one skin condition does not result in other skin conditions being treated. Thus, it would be burdensome to search the entire claims.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 8/20/2026, 1/22/2026, 10/18/2024 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 1, 6, and 7 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.
Claims 1 and 7 contain the term “(20-40):1”. Why is the weight ratio in parentheses? It is part of the claim? Please correct.
Claims 1, 6, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being incomplete for omitting essential steps, such omission amounting to a gap between the steps. See MPEP § 2172.01. The omitted steps are: administering. How is the composition administered for improving a skin condition?
Please elaborate.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 6 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tan et al. (CN 114376950 A).
Tan et al. teaches the use of plant raw material: rosemary leaf, tap bamboo leaf, Japanese cherry blossom, hemp leaf, grinding into fine powder by 60-mesh sieve, filter the mesh fine crushing part of plant raw material, the respectively plant raw material powder uniformly mixing; (2) according to the ratio of the material liquid extracted by the ethanol determined by the orthogonal experiment: 1: 35, weighing proper pure ethanol reagent for soaking the plant raw material powder for 1 hours, placing the electric heating sleeve for heating, heating the temperature to 78 degrees centigrade, opening the cold circulating water for hot reflux extraction for 2 hours (Example 1) in a cosmetic composition. The cosmetic composition takes the natural extract as active ingredient, it has high anti-inflammatory activity, the effect of removing dead skin cells of the skin is moderate, it can effectively improve the glossiness of the skin, reduce the roughness of the skin, make the skin better absorb nutrition, and the irritation of the skin is small, skin has no side effect, has good effect of cleaning dead skin cells, safety, green natural for all skin of people (Abstract). Japanese cherry blossom is also known as Prunus lannesiana flower (Specific implementation examples).
Conclusion
No claim is allowed.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CATHERYNE CHEN whose telephone number is (571)272-9947. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 9-5:30 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anand U Desai can be reached on 571-272-0947. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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Catheryne Chen Examiner Art Unit 1655
/ANAND U DESAI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1655
