DETAILED ACTION
The following Office Action is in response to the Request for Reconsideration filed on November 17, 2025. Claims 1, 5-9, 11, 14-17, and 19-20 are currently pending
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 .
Response to Arguments
Concerning the “Drawing Objections and Rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 103” section on pages 6-7 of the Applicant’s Response filed on November 17, the applicant’s arguments have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The applicant argues that U.S. Patent Publication No. 2012/0290004, which was incorporated by reference, shows a soft suture anchor in which one filament end passes through an eyelet aperture of the opposing filament end, and two ends are subsequently tied to form a sliding cinch knot that prevents further filament motion, referencing paragraphs [0040-0044]. However, the examiner asserts that the referenced paragraphs make absolutely no mention of an eyelet. The word “eyelet” does not appear anywhere within the Lombardo reference. Furthermore, the referenced paragraphs do not mention any structure that is similar to an eyelet and the drawings do not show any structures that may be interpreted as an eyelet. Only a slip knot is disclosed. Because the applicant has not referenced any specific reference numbers within the Drawings and has not provided any specific passages within the referenced paragraphs which may relate to the claimed laterally positioned hole in the second working end, the examiner cannot determine what structure the applicant is referring to as an “eyelet”. Therefore, the rejections of the claims under 35 U.S.C. §103 and the objections to the drawings stand.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, “the knot formed with the first working end and the second working end” as claimed in claims 1 and 11 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1, 5-9, 11, 14-17, and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Claims 1 and 11 have added the limitation of “wherein a knot is formed with the first working end and the second working end” and claim 14 has added the limitation of “forming a knot with the first working end and the second working end”, but there is no support for a suture anchor device including both a laterally positioned hole through the body of the filament and a knot. The applicant cites paragraphs [0023] and [0024] as support for the limitation of the knot formed with the first working end and the second working end, but said paragraphs are referring to the suture anchor of U.S. Patent No. 2012/0290004, which is described in the preceding paragraph [0022]. In fact, paragraphs [0023] and [0024] are direct recitations of paragraphs [¶ 0042-0043] of U.S. Patent No. 2012/0290004. Furthermore, U.S. Patent No. 2012/0290004 includes slip knots that are included in the suture anchor, which is an equivalent structure to the laterally positioned hole of the instant application. There is no evidence or support within the Specification that shows a knot included with the laterally positioned hole structure. There is no description of the two structures being used with one another, how the two structures may be used together, what benefit to the device may be imparted in including both structures, and there is no drawing that shows a knot included in the suture anchor device, therein failing to reasonably convey to a person having ordinary skill in the art that the inventor had possession of the claimed invention at the time the application was filed. Dependent claims 5-9, 15-17, and 19-20 are further rejected for being dependent on claims that contain new matter.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARTIN TRUYEN TON whose telephone number is (571)270-5122. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday; EST 10:00 AM - 6:30 PM.
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/MARTIN T TON/Examiner, Art Unit 3771 11/26/2025