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 .
Claims
Claims 1-10 are pending. Claims 2-10 are withdrawn.
Examiner’s Note
When making amendments to the claims Applicant is advised to be careful and not add new matter. If Applicant believes that support is present in the Figures then Applicant is advised to consider amending the text of the Specification to capture the new limitations while being careful not to add new matter. Applicant is advised to precisely point out where in the disclosure as filed, not the PGPUB, support is present for any amendments.
WITHDRAWN OBJECTIONS
All objections of record in the Office Action mailed 4/6/2026 have been withdrawn due to Applicant’s amendments in the Paper filed 7/6/2026.
WITHDRAWN REJECTIONS
All rejections of record in the Office Action mailed 4/6/2026 have been withdrawn due to Applicant’s amendments in the Paper filed 7/6/2026.
NEW REJECTIONS
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Official Correspondence.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Extraction of Catechin Compounds from Green Tea with a New Green Solvent; Chem. Res. Chin. Univ., 2014, 30(1), 37-41, Zhang et al. (2014).
The 2,3-butanediol in the claims is interpreted as having a purity of 90% or greater no matter how it may have been produced.
Zhang (2014) teaches a method of extracting a natural material using a solvent composition, the method comprising: mixing the solvent composition and green tea to prepare a mixture: extracting a green tea extract comprising an effective substance from the green tea by stirring or immersing the mixture; and removing a solid material from the mixture and separating the green tea extract, wherein the solvent composition comprises: 2,3-butanediol produced from biomass, wherein 2,3-butanediol comprises 90% or greater of levo-2,3-butanediol, and the natural material is green tea, and wherein the green tea extract comprises: one or more of theobromine, catechin, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), epigallocatechin (EGC), epicatechin gallate (ECG), gallocatechin gallate (GCG) and gallocatechin (GC), amino acids, and pigment components (See entire document, including p. 38 wherein the 2,3-butanediol is greater than 99% purity.).
ANSWERS TO APPLICANT’S ARGUMENTS
The limitations of the amended/new claims are discussed above.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRENT T O'HERN whose telephone number is (571)272-6385. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 5:00 am - 3:30 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Emily Le can be reached at 571-272-0903. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRENT T O'HERN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1793
July 10, 2026
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