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
Applicant’s amendments to the Specification have addressed issues raised in objections to the Specification. The objections to the specification have been withdrawn.
Applicant’s statement, see Claim Interpretation, filed September 24, 2025, with respect to interpretation of the claims under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) has been fully considered. New rejections of claims 9 – 20 under 35 U.S.C. 101 are made in light of this statement.
Applicant’s arguments, see 35 U.S.C. § 112 Rejections, filed September 24, 2025, with respect to rejections of the claims under 35 U.S.C. § 112 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejections of the claims have been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments, see Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. § 102 and Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. § 103, filed September 24, 2025, with respect to rejections of the claims under 35 U.S.C. § 102 and 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The amendments have overcome the previously cited prior art of record. The rejections of the claims have been withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 9 – 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claims do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter. Claims 9 – 20 recite software per se. The claim term ‘microcode’ is software instructions. Given the broadest reasonable interpretation and the claim interpretation argued by the applicant, the claim term ‘fault handler’ may be construed as a computer program, i.e. software per se.
Regarding claims 15 – 20, under the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claims, the claim term ‘memory’ encompasses non-statutory subject matter. See at least MPEP 2106.03(II).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1 – 7 allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: A search of the prior art did not find a single piece of prior art, or combination thereof, which would teach or suggest all limitations of the independent claims.
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.
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/B.P.H./Examiner, Art Unit 2114
/MICHAEL MASKULINSKI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2113