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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 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 14-29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102((a)(1)) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Zuo, CN 105886147.
Zuo, CN 105886147, discloses a laundry detergent comprising 1-5 parts of sodium chloride, 0.5-2 parts of complex enzymes, 1-5 parts of an emulsifier, 0.5-2 parts of a chelating agent, 5-10 parts of an organic solvent, 0.1-0.5 parts of polyvinylpyrrolidone, 0.1-0.5 parts of hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, 0.1-0.5 parts of essences, 1-5 parts of a thickening agent, 1-3 parts of sorbitol and 50-100 parts of deionized water (see abstract and page 4, lines 11-18). It is further taught by Zuo that suitable essences include jasmine oil (see page 5, lines 22-23), that suitable thickening agents include carrageenan (see page 5, lines 25-26), and that the laundry detergent is used in a process to clean fabrics (see page 3, lines 13-31), per the requirements of the instant invention. Specifically, note Embodiments 1-4 and Tables 1-2. Therefore, instant claims 14-29 are anticipated by Zuo, CN 105886147.
In the alternative that the above disclosure is insufficient to anticipate the above listed claims, it would have nonetheless been obvious to the skilled artisan to produce the claimed composition, as the reference teaches each of the claimed ingredients within the claimed proportions for the same utility.
Claims 14-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over
Stenger, US 2021/0108159, discloses a detergent composition comprising 1-60% by weight of a surfactant, 0.001-4% by weight of an anti-foam, 0.01-2.5% by weight of a structurant, and 1-30% by weight of a linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (see abstract and paragraph 11). It is further taught by Stenger that the composition contains 35-99% by weight of water (see paragraph 19), that suitable structurants include carrageenan and xanthan gum (see paragraph 156), that suitable adjunct materials include enzymes (see paragraphs 185-186), fabric shading agents (see paragraphs 191-199), up to 2% by weight of sodium chloride (see paragraph 195), 0.0001-5% by weight of particulate materials and perfumes (see paragraphs 200-205), and polymers (see paragraphs 207-213), wherein the composition is in the form of a unit dose containing a polyvinyl alcohol film (see paragraph 215), and is used in a process to treat fabrics (see paragraphs 216-228), per the requirements of the instant invention. Specifically, note Examples C-D in Table 2.
Although Stenger generally discloses a detergent composition containing 0.01-2.5% by weight of a structurant, such as carrageenan, and up to 2% by weight of sodium chloride, the reference does not require such detergent compositions containing these components with sufficient specificity to constitute anticipation.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have formulated a detergent composition, as taught by Stenger, which contained 0.01-2.5% by weight of a structurant, such as carrageenan, and up to 2% by weight of sodium chloride, because such detergent compositions fall within the scope of those taught by Stenger. Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success, because such a detergent composition containing 0.01-2.5% by weight of a structurant, such as carrageenan, and up to 2% by weight of sodium chloride is expressly suggested by the Stenger disclosure and therefore is an obvious formulation.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Xie, CN 108441347, discloses a laundry sheet containing 2-4 parts of thickeners, up to 40 parts of water per layer of sheet, and adjunct ingredients (see abstract).
Han, CN 106497707, discloses a liquid detergent containing 67-95 parts of water, 2-8 parts of a thickening agent, coloring agents, and adjunct ingredients (see abstract).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRIAN P MRUK whose telephone number is (571)272-1321. The examiner can normally be reached on 7:00am-5:30pm Monday-Thursday.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Angela Brown-Pettigrew, can be reached on 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 an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/BRIAN P MRUK/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1761
Brian P Mruk
August 25, 2026
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