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 .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Status of Claims
Claims 1-11, 13-15, and 17-22 are pending and currently under consideration for patentability; claims 4, 6-11, 13, 15, and 17-22 were amended and claims 12, 16, and 23-48 were cancelled via a Preliminary Amendment dated 07 January 2025.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statements submitted on 25 April 2025 and 24 March 2026 have been acknowledged and considered by the Examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 5 is objected to because of the following informalities.
Claim 5 contains minor typographical and/or grammatical errors.
Claim 5, line 1: Applicant is advised to change “at least one symptom” to “the at least one symptom”
Claim 5, line 9: Applicant is advised to change “Parkinsons’s” to “Parkinson’s”
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-9, 13, 17, 18, and 20-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Schoutens (US 2020/0238101 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Schoutens describes a method for treatment and/or prophylaxis of Parkinson’s disease ([0014]), comprising irradiating light of a specific wavelength to a subject by using a light irradiating apparatus ([0014]).
Regarding claim 2, Schoutens describes wherein the method for treatment and/or prophylaxis of Parkinson’s disease is a method for treatment and/or prophylaxis of motor symptoms and/or non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease ([0015]).
Regarding claim 3, Schoutens describes wherein the motor symptom is bradykinesia ([0015]).
Regarding claim 4, Schoutens describes wherein the non-motor symptom is sleep disorder ([0015]).
Regarding claim 5, Schoutens describes wherein the sleep disorder is attributable to Parkinson’s disease ([0015]).
Regarding claim 6, Schoutens describes wherein the method for treatment and/or prophylaxis of Parkinson’s disease is a method for treatment and/or prophylaxis of dyskinesia ([0015], bradykinesia, akinesia, dystonia).
Regarding claim 7, Schoutens describes wherein Parkinson’s disease is characterized by being classified according to Hoehn & Yahr severity level classification, as one of level I, level II, level III, level IV, or level V ([0014], inherent property of a Parkinson’s diagnosis).
Regarding claim 8, Schoutens describes wherein the light of a specific wavelength is irradiated constantly or at a specific blinking frequency to the subject ([0076]).
Regarding claim 9, Schoutens describes wherein the subject is being administered or was administered levodopa ([0088]).
Regarding claim 13, Schoutens describes wherein the light is one of light irradiated constantly and light blinking at a specific blinking frequency ([0076]).
Regarding claim 17, Schoutens describes wherein the light is irradiated during daytime ([0050]).
Regarding claim 18, Schoutens describes wherein the light is irradiated for 10 seconds or more, as a total time of light irradiation ([0091]).
Regarding claim 20, Schoutens describes wherein the light is irradiated for five minutes or more, as a total time of light irradiation ([0091]).
Regarding claim 21, Schoutens describes wherein the light irradiating apparatus is spectacles with a light source or a spectacle frame with a light source ([0029]).
Regarding claim 22, Schoutens describes wherein the subject is a human ([0014]).
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.
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 10, 11, 14, 15, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schoutens in view of Hayano et al. (WO 2020/0327305 A1, with citations made to the corresponding United States reference US 2021/0308481 A1).
Regarding claim 10, Schoutens describes the method according to claim 1 but does not explicitly disclose wherein the light is violet light. However, Hayano also describes a method comprising irradiating light of a specific wavelength to a subject by using a light irradiating apparatus ([0012]), including wherein the light is violet light ([0055]). As Hayano is also directed towards providing irradiation light to a subject and is in a similar field of endeavor, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to use a violet light similar to that described by Hayano when implementing the method described by Schoutens, as doing so advantageously allows the resulting method to use a light with known beneficial properties when treating the subject.
Regarding claim 11, Hayano describes wherein specific wavelength includes a wavelength in a range of 360 nm to 400 nm ([0055]).
Regarding claim 13, Hayano describes wherein the blinking frequency is in a range of 30 Hz to 70 Hz ([0055]).
Regarding claim 15, Hayano describes wherein the blinking frequency is in a range of 35 Hz to 60 Hz ([0055]).
Regarding claim 19, Hayano describes wherein the light is irradiated such that irradiance of light incident on eyes is within a range of 0.5 μW/cm2 to 1000 μW/cm2 ([0017]).
Statement on Communication via Internet
Communications via Internet e-mail are at the discretion of the applicant. Without a written authorization by applicant in place, the USPTO will not respond via Internet e-mail to any Internet correspondence which contains information subject to the confidentiality requirement as set forth in 35 U.S.C. 122. Where a written authorization is given by the applicant, communications via Internet e-mail, other than those under 35 U.S.C. 132 or which otherwise require a signature, may be used. USPTO employees are NOT permitted to initiate communications with applicants via Internet e-mail unless there is a written authorization of record in the patent application by the applicant. The following is a sample authorization form which may be used by applicant:
“Recognizing that Internet communications are not secure, I hereby authorize the USPTO to communicate with the undersigned and practitioners in accordance with 37 CFR 1.33 and 37 CFR 1.34 concerning any subject matter of this application by video conferencing, instant messaging, or electronic mail. I understand that a copy of these communications will be made of record in the application file.”
Please refer to MPEP 502.03 for guidance on Communications via Internet.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to Ankit D. Tejani, whose telephone number is 571-272-5140. The Examiner may normally be reached on Monday through Friday, 8:30AM through 5:00PM 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, Niketa Patel, can be reached by telephone at 571-272-4156. 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 at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (in USA or Canada) or 571-272-1000.
/Ankit D Tejani/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3796
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