Challenge
The USPTO issued a non-final Office Action dated June 10, 2025. The application involved magnetic transfection of maize pollen. The Office Action raised priority-document issues, drawing and specification objections, Section 112(b) indefiniteness concerns, and Section 103 obviousness rejections over Zhang in view of Yang.
The examiner challenged both the legal form of the claims and the technical distinction over prior pollen-transformation references.
Strategy
- Converted narrative claim language into a more conventional U.S. method-claim format.
- Resolved formality issues affecting drawings, specification, and claim clarity.
- Used amended claim limitations to focus the invention on maize pollen pretreatment for aperture opening before magnetic transfection.
- Supported nonobviousness with affidavit evidence showing markedly improved aperture-opening rates compared with non-pretreatment conditions.
Result
The USPTO issued a Notice of Allowance on June 9, 2026. The examiner withdrew the Section 112(b) and Section 103 rejections in light of the amendments and affidavit submitted on March 9, 2026. The allowed claims covered the maize pollen pretreatment and magnetic transfection approach reflected in claims 1 and 3-7.