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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-9 in the reply filed on November 14, 2025 is acknowledged. Claims 10-13 are withdrawn from further consideration.
Specification
The specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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 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 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lynd (US 5258293-appears on PTO-1449).
Lynd teaches a method of continuously producing ethanol from lignocellulosic substrates is provided. The method involves providing a suitable microbial system within a reaction vessel and adding fermentable substrate to the reactor to form a reaction mixture (see abstract). As the reaction proceeds, there results within the reaction vessel the formation of at least three clearly defined zones. The uppermost zone in the reaction vessel is a gaseous region while the intermediate zone comprises a clarified liquid containing the produced ethanol (see col. 1, lines 67 through col. 2, lines 1-4), Lynd meets the limitations of the claims other than the differences that are set forth below.
Lynd does not teach that the GC/MS analysis of the ethanol of his invention has at least one peak with a retention time as set forth in the claims, nor does Lynd teach from where the peaks are derived or their concentrations. However, no unobviousness is seen in these differences because ethanol has a specific chemical formula and the prior art teaches that ethanol of this specific chemical formula is produced in this method. It is the examiner’s position that the ethanol of the instant claims is not patentably distinct by virtue of its method of production. Notwithstanding, the prior art cited teaches ethanol derived from waste sources (see col. 7, lines 24-28) and as such it would be reasonable to expect that the ethanol would possess the claimed GC/MS analysis or in the least overlap the retention times of the instantly claimed features. No evidence has been presented to establish that the properties of the ethanol of the instant claims will materially differ from the ethanol of the cited prior art.
Claims 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hoge(US 4,009,075- appears on PTO-892) .
Hoge teaches a process for making alcohol from cellulosic material by hydrolyzing the material to sugars and subjecting the resultant reaction mixture to digestion and fermentation to convert the sugars to alcohol (see abstract). Various microbiological systems for fermenting the sugars to form alcohol can be used with this invention. For example, certain strains of bacteria are known to produce alcohol from sugars (see col. 5, lines 3-6).
Alcohol forms a useful fuel and may be utilized in admixture with other fuels, for example, gasoline to produce a low cost fuel. Ethyl alcohol, as produced from cellulosic waste materials in accordance with the present invention, also is useful as a solvent; extractant; antifreeze; intermediate in the synthesis of innumerable organic chemicals, and as an essential ingredient of alcoholic beverages and pharmaceuticals (see col. 1, lines 29-36). Hoge meets the limitations of the claims other than the differences that are set forth below.
Hoge does not teach that the GC/MS analysis of the ethanol of his invention has at least one peak with a retention time as set forth in the claims, nor does Hoge teach from where the peaks are derived or their concentrations. However, no unobviousness is seen in these differences because ethanol has a specific chemical formula and the prior art teaches that ethanol of this specific chemical formula is produced in this method. It is the examiner’s position that the ethanol of the instant claims is not patentably distinct by virtue of its method of production. Notwithstanding, the prior art cited teaches ethanol derived from waste sources (see col. 7, lines 24-28) and as such it would be reasonable to expect that the ethanol would possess the claimed GC/MS analysis or in the least overlap the retention times of the instantly claimed features. No evidence has been presented to establish that the properties of the ethanol of the instant claims will materially differ from the ethanol of the cited prior art.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CEPHIA D TOOMER whose telephone number is (571)272-1126. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday.
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, Prem Singh can be reached on 571-272-6368. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CEPHIA D TOOMER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1771 19028770/20260206
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