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 .
Status of claims
Claims 11-20 as filed on 11/12/2024 (preliminary amendment) are pending and under examination.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Indefinite
Claims 11-20 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.
Claim 11 is rendered indefinite by the phrase “a culture solution thereof” since it is unclear what are contents of this solution.
Claim 12 is indefinite because phrase “a composition” does not have a clear antecedent basis in the method of claim 11, which does not point to a composition as a therapeutic product for administration.
Claim 13 is indefinite because it is unclear whether maltodextrin and glucose are separate therapeutic agents or they are intended as carriers and/or additives for bacterial strain of claim 11 in a composition of claim 12.
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.
Claims 11 and 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a) (1) as being anticipated by US 2012/0282675 (Kim et al).
The cited document US 2012/0282675 (Kim et al) teaches administration of a composition with a bacterial strain Lactobacillus plantarum strain CJLP55 deposited as KCTC 11401BP (abstract) for improving skin, atopic disease and allergies (par. 0038, 0048) and suppressing pathogens as result of producing bacteriocin (0033). The composition is formulated for oral administration (par 0034). The composition comprises glucose as excipient (par. 0100). The cited document teaches that amounts of bacteria can be adjusted to a desired level (0110).
Thus, the disclosure by the cited document anticipates the claimed method comprising one identical active step of orally administering the same therapeutic agent such as strain KCTC 1401BP to a generic subject as intended for improving skin, atopic disease and allergies. Therefore, the cited document is considered to anticipate claims 11 and 14. The therapeutic agent for oral admisnitriaotn is identical as disclosed and as claimed, thereby, intended effects as recited in claims 15-20 are the same.
Thus, the cited US 2012/0282675 (Kim et al) is considered to anticipate the claimed method.
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 11, 12 and 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2012/0282675 (Kim et al) in view of Mottin et al (International Journal of Dermatology, 2018, 57, pages 1425-1432).
The cited document US 2012/0282675 (Kim et al) teaches administration of a composition with a bacterial strain Lactobacillus plantarum strain CJLP55 deposited as KCTC 11401BP (abstract) for improving skin, atopic disease and allergies (par. 0038, 0048) and suppressing pathogens as result of producing bacteriocin (0033). The composition is formulated for oral administration (par 0034).
The cited document US 2012/0282675 (Kim et al) teaches that amounts of bacteria can be adjusted to a desired level (0110). But is silent about disclosure about compositions with 3-15% amount of Lactobacillus plantarum.
However, the prior art, for example: the reference by Mottin, recognizes that bacteria belonging to Lactobacillus plantarum is used for treating skin diseases including dermatitis and acne by providing composition with about 5% of beneficial bacteria (paragraph bridging pages 1427-1428). Mottin recognizes that a
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the claimed invention was filed to adjust amount of Lactobacillus plantarum strain CJLP55 (KCTC 11401BP) in the composition in the method of US 2012/0282675 (Kim et al) for treating dermatitis to a desired level of about 5% with a reasonable expectation of success in treating acne and dermatitis because the prior art recognizes that bacteria belonging to Lactobacillus plantarum is used for treating dermatitis by providing composition with about 5% of beneficial bacteria (Mottin).
Thus, the claimed invention as a whole was clearly prima facie obvious, especially in the absence of evidence to the contrary.
The claimed subject matter fails to patentably distinguish over the state art as represented be the cited references. Therefore, the claims are properly rejected under 35 USC § 103.
Claims 11-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2012/0282675 (Kim et al) and Mottin et al (International Journal of Dermatology, 2018, 57, pages 1425-1432) as applied to claims 11, 12 and 14-20 above, and further in view of US 9,138,394 (Giuliani et al).
The cited document US 2012/0282675 (Kim et al) teaches administration of a composition with a bacterial strain Lactobacillus plantarum strain CJLP55 deposited as KCTC 11401BP (abstract) for improving skin, atopic disease and allergies (par. 0038, 0048) and suppressing pathogens as result of producing bacteriocin (0033). The composition is formulated for oral administration (par 0034).
In particular, cited document US 2012/0282675 (Kim et al) teaches incorporation of glucose as excipient into the compositions with Lactobacillus plantarum strain CJLP55 (par. 0100). The cited document US 2012/0282675 (Kim et al) is silent about maltodextrin.
However it is well known to incorporate maltodextrin into compositions with Lactobacillus plantarum for treating skin condition. For example: see US 9,138,394 at col. 8, lines 1-14.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the claimed invention was filed to add maltodextrin to the composition with Lactobacillus plantarum strain CJLP55 in the method of US 2012/0282675 (Kim et al) with a reasonable expectation of success in treating skin conditions because maltodextrin is used in pharmaceutical compositions together with active ingredient including probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus plantarum as evidenced by US 9,138,394 (Giuliani et al).
Thus, the claimed invention as a whole was clearly prima facie obvious, especially in the absence of evidence to the contrary.
The claimed subject matter fails to patentably distinguish over the state art as represented be the cited references. Therefore, the claims are properly rejected under 35 USC § 103.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claim 11-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a natural phenomenon without significantly more.
The claims recite oral administration of a bacterial Lactobacillus plantarum strain CJLP55 or KTCT 11401BP to a generic subject as intended to improve skin conditions, The claim-recited strain is a naturally occurring bacteria as taught by US 2012/0282675 (Kim et al); for example: see par. 0018 and 0022. The additional components including glucose and maltodextrin are nature-based product that are commonly present in food. The subject is a generic subject without any special needs. Thus, the claims recite a mere act of eating by unlimited population.
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because claimed elements in combination do not add a meaningful limitation or extra-solution to the claimed method, and the claimed method as a whole is nothing more than an attempt to generally link a natural phenomenon to a particular technological environment.
The claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because when considered separately and in combination, they do not add significantly more (also known as an “inventive concept”) to the exception.
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Vera Afremova
August 19, 2026
/VERA AFREMOVA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1653
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