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 § 112
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.
Claim 7 is 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.
Regarding claim 7, it is not clear what is exactly required here in order to perform “a cooling gel method” since the only recited step is “using the hard capsule preparation solution according to claim 4.”
Furthermore, the preparation solution according to claim 4 does not include any ingredients that would “gel” as to perform “a cooling gel method.” Limitations from the specification are not read into the claims and so this limitation is not clear.
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.
Claims 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Palangetic et al. (US 2021/0052505), hereinafter Palangetic.
Regarding claims 1 and 4, Palangetic discloses a capsule comprising a shell containing a cellulose compound, a light-shielding agent, and an aqueous solvent (par. 0073; 0124 – “water”),
wherein the light-shielding agent contains calcium carbonate (par. 0089) having a median diameter of 0.7 microns (Table 1 shows both values of 0.7 microns for precipitated calcium carbonate and 3.8 microns for ground calcium carbonate – either of which would be an example falling within the claimed range), and
the content of the light-shielding agent (calcium carbonate) is 3-10%, 4-8%, 5-7% (par. 0089) based on the dry-weight of the composition (where “dry-weight” is considered as excluding the water/aqueous solvent). All of these ranges include examples falling within the claimed range.
It is noted that the term “hard” in the preamble of the claim is not limiting, as the body of the claim recites a structurally complete invention.
Regarding claims 2 and 5, Palangetic discloses the subject matter of claims 1/4 as described above, and further discloses that the cellulose compound is hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) (par. 0022).
Regarding claims 3 and 6, Palangetic discloses the subject matter of claims 1/4 as described above, and further discloses that the shell includes a gelling agent and/or a gelling aid (par. 0074).
Regarding claim 7, Palangetic discloses the subject matter of claim 4, and further discloses “using” said solution as it is used to form capsules in accordance with the disclosure (see par. 0073).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW D GRAHAM whose telephone number is (469)295-9232. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:30AM-4:00PM (CST).
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, Christina Johnson can be reached at (571) 272-1176. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANDREW D GRAHAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1742
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