`
`Application No.
`
`Applicant(s)
`
`15/729,564
`
`Examiner
`
`BANYAI et al.
`
`Art Unit
`
`AIA (FITF) Status
`
`Yes
`1639
`KAIJIANG ZHANG
`
`
`All participants (applicant, applicant’s representative, PTO personnel):
`
`(1) KAIJIANG ZHANG.
`
`(2) David Harburger.
`
`Date of Interview: 31 January 2020.
`
`Type:
`
`B Video Conference
`Telephonic
`[:1 Personal [copy given to: Cl applicant [3 applicant's representative]
`
`Exhibit shown or demonstration conducted: C] Yes
`
`No.
`
`If Yes, brief description:
`
`Others
`103
`CI 102
`CI 112
`C] 101
`Issues Discussed
`(For each of the checked b0x(es) above, please describe below the issue and detailed description of the discussion)
`
`Claim(s) discussed: 1,4—5,7—15,18—24,26—32 and 34—39.
`
`Identification of prior art discussed: Church et aI. gWO 2012/154201 A12.
`
`Substance of Interview
`(For each issue discussed, provide a detailed description and indicate if agreement was reached. Some topics may include: identification or clarification of a reference
`or a portion thereof, claim interpretation, proposed amendments, arguments of any applied references etc...)
`
`See Continuation Sheet.
`
`
`
`Applicant recordation instructions: If is not necessary for applicant to provide a separate record of the substance of interview.
`
`Examiner recordation instructions: Examiners must summarize the substance of any interview of record. A complete and proper recordation of the
`substance of an interview should include the items listed in MPEP 713.04 for complete and proper recordation including the identification of the general
`thrust of each argument or issue discussed, a general indication of any other pertinent matters discussed regarding patentability and the general results or
`outcome of the interview, to include an indication as to whether or not agreement was reached on the issues raised.
`
`[:1 Attachment
`
`/KAIJIANG ZHANG/
`
`Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1639
`
`U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
`
`PTOL-41BB (Rev. 8/11/2010)
`
`Interview Summary
`
`Paper NO- 20200204
`
`
`
`Continuation Sheet (PTOL-413B)
`
`Application No. 15/729,564
`
`Continuation of Substance of Interview including description of the general nature of what was agreed
`to if an agreement was reached, or any other comments: In an effort to expedite prosecution, the
`examiner initiated the telephone interview to discuss possible rejoinder of the method claims (which
`require all the limitations of claim 1) and cancellation of the product claims to place the application in
`condition for allowance. Specifically, applicant's argument that Church et al. do not teach the feature
`that "the at least 20,000 polynucleotides encode sequences with an aggregate error rate of less than
`1 in 1000 bases compared to the preselected cDNA sequences" would be persuasive should such
`feature be recited in a method claim (instead of the product claim 1 where such recited feature does
`NOT impose any "structural" limitation on the polynucleotides in the claimed library because the
`structure of each polynucleotide is ONLY defined by its specific nucleotide sequence but NOT how it’s
`made). Although Dr. Harburger did not necessarily agree with the Office's interpretation of claim 1
`with respect to the recitation "the at least 20,000 polynucleotides encode sequences with an
`aggregate error rate of less than 1 in 1000 bases compared to the preselected cDNA sequences", Dr.
`Harburger agreed to have the method claims rejoined and allowed while having the product claims
`canceled to expedite prosecution of the instant application. During the interview, amendments to
`some of the method claims were also discussed, including the incorporation of the limitation "without
`error correction" from claim 38 to claim 24. At the end of the interview, Dr. Harburger gave an oral
`authorization for an examiner's amendment to amend the claims accordingly.
`
`