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 .
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, 2, 4-10, 12, 15-18, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as anticipated by Taylor et al, US 2003/0022941
Taylor et al teach an antibacterial composition comprising 1.5% alkyl glucoside, 0.25% benzethonium chloride, 4.2% quaternary ammonium surfactant, 3.06% PEG-120 methyl glucose dioleate, 2.25% lauramine oxide, 0.51% NaCl, and the balance water (¶152, example 8C). As this reference meets all material limitations of the claims at hand, the reference is anticipatory.
Claims 1-3, 5-12, 14-18, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by over DeSzalay, US 2018/0153786.
DeSzalay teaches an antimicrobial cleansing composition comprising 0.2% BZK, 3% cetrimonium chloride, 5% lauryl dimethyl amine oxide surfactant (examiner’s note: the reference refers to “amide oxide”, however this is an error and amine oxide is the correct surfactant), 0.1% cocomonoethanolamide, 0.2% chelant salt, 1% PEG-150 distearate and the balance water (page 13, example E6). As this reference meets all material limitations of the claims at hand, the reference is anticipatory.
Claims 1-4, 10-12, 14-18, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as anticipated by Zhu, US 2013/0210923.
Zhu teaches an antibacterial personal care composition comprising benzalkonium chloride, 6.5% cetrimonium chloride, 0.8% PEG-6000 distearate, 3% lauramine oxide, NaCl, and the balance water (¶101, example E4). As this reference meets all material limitations of the claims at hand, the reference is anticipatory.
Claims 1-3, 10-18, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as anticipated by Knox et al, US 2002/0169099.
Knox et al teach a detergent composition suitable for hand soaps (¶2) comprising 2% benzalkonium chloride, 1.5% cetrimonium chloride, 2% lauric diethanolamide, 2% cocomonoethanolamide. 4.5% cocoamidopropyl dimethylamine oxide, NH4CI, and the balance water (¶138, example 11). As this reference meets all material limitations of the claims at hand, the reference is anticipatory.
Claims 1-4, and 10-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as anticipated by Gambogi et al, US 6,369,013.
Gambogi et al teach a detergent composition comprising 4% cationic mixture including benzalkonium chloride, 10% cetrimonium chloride, 7% cocoamidopropyl dimethylamine oxide, 2.5% cocomonoethanolamide, and the balance water (col. 13, example 3B). As this reference meets all material limitations of the claims at hand, the reference is anticipatory.
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 1-12, 14-18, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moen et al, US 2013/0035396.
Moen et al teach an antimicrobial cleansing composition comprising 0.88% cationic antimicrobial, 0.95% cetrimonium chloride, 0.95% cocoamidopropylamine oxide, 0.1% chelant salt and 92.54% water (¶55, formulation 2). Suitable thickeners of the invention include PEG-150 distearate (¶35), and suitable antimicrobial agents are BZK that may be included in amounts up to 10% (claims 1 and 4). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to formulate formulation 2 with a well-known thickener and to use BZK as the antimicrobial agent of formulation 2 with confidence of successfully forming an effective cleansing composition as these components are taught as suitable by the reference.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Taylor et al, US 2003/0022941.
Taylor et al are relied upon as set forth above. Suitable and preferred nonionic surfactants of the invention include cocoamidopropyl amine oxide (example 8A) and cocomonoethanolamide (¶103). Preferred antibacterial agents of the invention include BZK (¶140). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to formulate example 8 with well-known nonionic surfactants and antimicrobials in place of or in addition to the nonionic surfactants already present in example 8 with complete confidence of successfully forming an effective antibacterial composition.
With respect to the composition being transparent, note that the reference contains at least one example that is clear (example 3A). Clearly then, Taylor is aware of the parameters necessary to achieve a transparent composition and so it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to prepare example 8 as a clear composition with confidence of forming an effective antibacterial composition.
Claims 1-12, 14-18 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kleen et al, US 7,169,193.
Kleen et al teach a shampoo comprising 4% alkyl glucoside, 0.8% quaternary ammonium surfactant, 0.5% PEG-120 methyl glucose dioleate, 0.2% NaCl, and the balance water (col. 29, example 2.8). These compositions may contain up to 5% cationic surfactant in a particularly preferred amount (col. 15, lines 44-48), and cetrimonium chloride and benzalkonium chloride are suitable cationic surfactants of the invention (col. 15, lines 10-20), and so it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to formulate example 2.8 with cetrimonium chloride and benzalkonium chloride with confidence of successfully forming an effective shampoo. Furthermore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to use well-known cationic surfactants in addition to or in place of the cationic surfactant in example 2.8 with complete confidence of successfully forming an effective shampoo.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Obviously, with respect to claim 1, there are many other references that contain a mixture of cationic surfactants. To avoid an onerous action, dependent claims were also considered to identify the closest prior art.
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/CHARLES I BOYER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1761
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