Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 01, 2026
Application No. 18/993,428

PROCESS FOR DYEING THE HAIR COMPRISING THE APPLICATION OF A COMPOSITION A COMPRISING TWO ALKOXYSILANES, AND THE APPLICATION OF A COMPOSITION B COMPRISING A FILM-FORMING POLYMER

Non-Final OA §103§112
Filed
Jan 10, 2025
Priority
Jul 11, 2022 — FR 2207085 +1 more
Examiner
ELHILO, EISA B
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
L'Oréal
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
83%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 83% — above average
83%
Career Allowance Rate
1207 granted / 1455 resolved
+23.0% vs TC avg
Strong +16% interview lift
Without
With
+16.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
1y 9m
Avg Prosecution
46 currently pending
Career history
1481
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.6%
-37.4% vs TC avg
§103
40.2%
+0.2% vs TC avg
§102
18.8%
-21.2% vs TC avg
§112
24.0%
-16.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1455 resolved cases

Office Action

§103 §112
Claims 1-15 are pending in this Office action. DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 1 The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 2 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 1-15 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 1-2, 4-6, 8-11 and 14-15 recite the phrases “such as”, “preferably”, “in particular”, “notably”, “preferentially”, “even better still” and “ better still”,. These phrases render the claims indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitations following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP 2173.05(d). Correction is required. Claims 3, 7 and 12-13 are dependent upon a rejected base claim. Therefore, claims 3, 7 and 12-13 are rejected as well. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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. 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 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brun et al. (US 20100083446 A1) in view of Gerardin et al. (WO 2022129157 A1). Brun et al. (US’ 446 A1) teaches a process for treating keratin fibers, comprising applying to the keratin fibers a cosmetic pretreatment composition comprising at least one organosilicon (alkoxysilane) compound chosen from silanes comprising one, two and three silicon atoms and applying to the keratin fibers a cosmetic composition comprising at least one hydrophobic film-forming polymer and at least one pigment (see claim 15), wherein the organosilicon compound having a formula (I) (see page 3, paragraph, 0054, formula (1), wherein the formula (1), further, represented by 3-aminoporpyltriethoxysilane having the following chemical formula: PNG media_image1.png 250 378 media_image1.png Greyscale which is similar to the claimed formula (I), when in the claimed formula (I), Rd and Re are hydrogen atoms, r is zero, A is alkyl group and Ra, Rb and Rc are alkyl radicals as claimed in claims 1-3 (see page 3, paragraph, 0063). Brun et al. (US’ 446 A1) teaches the composition is used in a form of spray (see page 19, paragraph, 0460) which is obvious should be packaged in one or more spray device as claimed in claims 1 and 12. Wherein the organosilicon (alkoxysilane) compound presents in the pretreatment cosmetic composition in the amount of from 0.1% to 40% by wt., as claimed in claim 4 (see page 4, paragraph, 0103), wherein the film-forming polymers include acrylic acid ester homopolymers and vinylpyrrolidone homopolymer as claimed in claim 7 (see page 10, paragraph, 0232), and the film-forming polymers present in the cosmetic composition in the amounts of 3% to 60% by wt., as claimed in claim 8 (see page 10, paragraph, 0230), and wherein the cosmetic composition also comprises hydroxyethylcellulose and hydroxypropylcellulose as claimed in claim 9 (see page 17, paragraph, 0404) in the amounts of from 0.1% to 10% by wt., as claimed in claim 10 (see page 18, paragraph, 0451), wherein the pigments present in the cosmetic composition in the amounts of from 0.5% to 30% by wt., as claimed in claim 11 (see page 14, paragraph, 0307). Brun et al. (US’ 446 A1) teaches a process for treating keratin fibers by applying a pretreatment composition comprising organosilicon compound and then applying to the keratin fibers a cosmetic composition comprising at least one hydrophobic film-forming polymer and at least one pigment (see claim 15), wherein the compositions also comprises propellants (see page 19, paragraph, 0457), and the compositions are used as a spray (see page 19, paragraph, 0460), which implies that the pretreatment cosmetic composition and the cosmetic composition comprising a film-forming polymer and pigments are presents in separate containers (kit) and used as spray under compressed air as claimed in claims 1 and 12-15. The instant claims differ from the teaching of Brun et al. (US’ 446 A1) by reciting a process for dyeing keratin fibers comprising applying to the keratin fibers a composition comprising at least one alkoxysilane of a claimed formula (II) as claimed in claims 1, 5 and 6. Gerardin et al. (WO’ 157 A1) in analogous art of cosmetic formulation, teaches a cosmetic composition comprising alkoxysilane compounds having the following formulae (IIIa) and (IIIb): PNG media_image2.png 230 254 media_image2.png Greyscale Which are similar to the claimed formulae formulae (1) and (II), when in the reference’s formulae, Ra and Rb are hydrogen atoms, Rd and Re are ethyl radicals and each Rc is ethoxy radical and Rf is a hydrogen atom or represents a formula (IV) and when in the claimed formulae (1) and (II), r is zero and Ra is alkoxy radical, Rb and Rc are alkyl radicals and Rf is a hydrogen atom, alkyl group or a group of a formula (IIa) as claimed in claims 1 and 5 (see page 19, lines 3-24, wherein the alkoxysilane compounds are present in the cosmetic composition in the amounts from 0.01% to 10% by wt., as claimed in claim 6 (see page 23, lines 1-4). Therefore, in view of the teaching of Gerardin et al. (WO’ 157 A1), it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing dated of the claimed invention, to be motivated to modify the cosmetic composition of Brun et al. (US’ 446 A1) by incorporating the alkoxysilanes as taught by Gerardin et al. (WO’ 157 A1) to arrive at the claimed invention. Such a modification would be obvious because the person of the ordinary skill in the art would expect that the use of alkoxysilane as taught by Gerardin et al. (WO’ 157 A1) would be similarly useful and applicable to the analogous cosmetic composition taught by Brun et al. (US’ 446 A1) and would expect such a dyeing process to have similar results to those claimed, absent unexpected results. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EISA B ELHILO whose telephone number is (571)272-1315. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM. 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, Angela Brown-Pettigrew can be reached at (571)272-2817. 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. /EISA B ELHILO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1761
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jan 10, 2025
Application Filed
Sep 16, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103, §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12747193
EFFLORESCENCE REMOVING CHEMICAL LIQUID
3y 1m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12747418
TREATMENT COMPOSITION WITH DELIVERY PARTICLES MADE FROM REDOX-INITIATOR-TREATED CHITOSAN
2y 10m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12747411
Detergent Gel Composition Comprising a Fatty Alcohol Ethoxylate
2y 10m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12742284
ANTIMICROBIAL POLYMER COATINGS ON TEXTILES
3y 4m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Patent 12742286
INTERFACE COATING PROCESS
2y 7m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
83%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+16.2%)
1y 9m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1455 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month