Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 06, 2026
Application No. 19/004,994

Identification of Rare Products of Crossing Organisms

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Dec 30, 2024
Priority
May 11, 2018 — NL 2020912 +2 more
Examiner
GANGLE, BRIAN J
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Heineken Supply Chain B V
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
77%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 0m
Est. Remaining
92%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 77% — above average
77%
Career Allowance Rate
732 granted / 954 resolved
+16.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +15% lift
Without
With
+15.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 7m
Avg Prosecution
49 currently pending
Career history
986
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
6.5%
-33.5% vs TC avg
§103
16.5%
-23.5% vs TC avg
§102
21.7%
-18.3% vs TC avg
§112
38.0%
-2.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 954 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . The preliminary amendment filed 12/30/2024 is acknowledged. Claims 3-9 and 11 are amended. Claims 1 and 12-15 are cancelled. Claims 2-11 are pending and are currently under examination. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statements filed on 12/30/2024 have been considered. Signed copies are enclosed. Claim Objections Claim 7 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. 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) 2-6 and 8-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bell et al (Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 64:1669-1672, 1998, IDS filed 12/30/2024). The instant claims are drawn to methods of identifying a hybrid organism comprising mating a first and second organism where the first organism is labelled with dye A and the second is labelled with dye B. Bell et al disclose a method of identifying hybrid organisms by mating Saccharomyces strains where different strains are labelled with various dyes including BR orange, CT green and CT BODIPY (see page 1669, Materials and Methods). BODIPY is a succinimidyl ester-coupled dye. The strains are mated at 20 degrees C, which is at least 5 degrees C below the optimal growth temperature and the cells are selected and isolated using FACS (see page 1669, Materials and Methods). The cells were identified by their dye color and diploid cells were used (according to applicant in the instant specification). After an initial round of sorting to isolate dual-labelled hybrid cells from single-labelled cells, the cells were centrifuged, resuspended, and subjected to a second round of sorting to isolate dual-labelled cells from single-labelled cells (see page 1670, column 1). Conclusion No claim is allowed. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Brian J Gangle whose telephone number is (571)272-1181. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 9-6:30. 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, Anne Gussow can be reached at 571-272-6047. 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. /BRIAN GANGLE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1645
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Dec 30, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 14, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
77%
Grant Probability
92%
With Interview (+15.0%)
2y 7m (~1y 0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 954 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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