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 .
Response to Amendment
This Office Action is responsive to the amendment filed on 13 November 2025. As directed by the amendment: Claims 1-16, 19, 27, and 30-32 are cancelled, and claims 17, 18, 21, 28, and 36 have been amended. Claims 17, 18, 20-26, 28, 29, and 33-36 currently stand pending in the application.
The amendments to the claims have resolved the claim objections listed in the previous action, which are correspondingly withdrawn.
The amendments to the claims have resolved the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) listed in the previous action, which are correspondingly withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any combination of references applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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 17, 18, 20-26, 28, 29, and 33-36 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) 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.
As to claim 1, the specification is silent as to the pairs of offset bone fixation holes being immediately adjacent each other, since there is an attachment opening between adjacent ones of the pairs, i.e. the pairs are immediately adjacent to the attachment opening and not to each other.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 17, 18, 20-25, 28, 29, and 33 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent No. US 8,764,809 to Lorenz et al. (hereinafter, “Lorenz”) in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2006/0235401 to Baldwin et al. (hereinafter, “Baldwin”), U.S. Patent No. US 9,138,267 to Cavallazzi, and U.S. Patent No. US 8,894,693 to Petit et al. (hereinafter, “Petit”).
As to claim 17, Lorenz discloses a system for treating a periprosthetic fracture, comprising: a bone plate (120), shown in FIGS. 14a-14d, including a first surface (see FIG. 14f) which, when the bone plate is in an operative position, is configured to face away from a bone, and a second surface (see FIG. 14e) which, when the bone plate is in the operative position, is configured to face toward the bone, the bone plate including: a head portion (widened proximal portion, shown in the annotated figure below) sized and shaped to be positioned along a greater trochanter of the bone, the head portion including a plurality of pairs of bone fixation element receiving openings (139) extending therethrough from the first surface of the bone plate to the second surface of the bone plate, and a pair of cable holes (holes through 124, 125, in FIG. 16) extending through the head portion (col. 14 / lines 4-23), a proximal end of the head portion including a pair of hooks (hooked free proximal ends on either side of the head portion, the curve of the hooks shown at the top of FIG. 14c) for engaging a superior ridge of the greater trochanter; and a shaft portion that extends in a distal direction from the head portion (see the annotated figure), the shaft portion including i. a plurality of bone fixation holes that extend from the first surface to the second surface and arranged as a plurality of pairs of offset bone fixation holes (each pair including a hole on the right and the distally adjacent hole on the left), shown in the annotated figure, each of the pairs of offset bone fixation holes including a first bone fixation hole at a first side of a longitudinal axis of the bone plate and a second bone fixation hole at a second side of the longitudinal axis opposite the first side, the first and second bone fixation holes of each pair offset relative to one another along a longitudinal direction defined by the longitudinal axis a first distance, wherein adjacent ones of the pairs of offset bone fixation holes are separated from each other by respective gaps that each extend a respective distance along the longitudinal direction; and an attachment plate (132) including a body portion (central portion) and a pair of laterally extending wings that extend from the body portion, FIG. 18b, wherein in the operative position, the laterally extending wings are configured to contact the bone, the attachment plate defining first and second bone fixation element receiving openings (135) extending through respective ones of the laterally extending wings (col. 14 / lines 55-58) (extends through at least a portion of the respective wing).
As to claim 18, Lorenz discloses the system of claim 17, wherein the shaft portion includes a proximal portion (portion of shaft portion near head portion) configured to extend along a portion of a shaft of the bone in which a prosthetic extends (interpreted as language of intended use, and deemed anticipated by the prior art if the prior art is capable of performing said intended use; the proximal portion of the shaft portion is fully capable of extending along a portion of a bone in which a prosthetic extends, since the bone plate is external to the bone and its positioning on the bone would not be affected by a prosthetic within the bone), and bone fixation elements inserted through the first and second bone fixation holes are configured to extend anterior and posterior of the prosthetic (interpreted as language of intended use as above; fully capable of extending anterior and posterior of the prosthetic depending on the dimensions of the prosthetic).
As to claim 20, Lorenz discloses the system of claim 18, wherein each of the pair of laterally extending wings extends laterally beyond a respective one of the first and second longitudinal sides (long sides of the shaft portion) of the bone plate.
As to claim 22, Lorenz discloses the system of claim 20, wherein each of the pair of laterally extending wings (133, 134) of the attachment plate is bendable with respect to the body portion (the wings are fully capable of being bendable since they are located as extensions away from the body portion and are bendable, or capable of being bent, based on their material composition).
As to claim 23, Lorenz discloses the system of claim 18, wherein each of the plurality of pairs of bone fixation element receiving openings of the head portion includes a first opening on the first side of the longitudinal axis and a second opening on the second side of the longitudinal axis, FIG. 14a.
As to claim 24, Lorenz discloses the system of claim 17, wherein the head portion includes an elongated opening extending therethrough (between legs of the head portion), FIG. 14a, from the first surface to the second surface.
As to claim 25, Lorenz discloses the system of claim 17, wherein the pair of hooks extend from the proximal end of the head portion along a curve pointed in the distal direction (the curve points in the distal direction since the hooks curve past 90 degrees relative to the rest of the bone plate), FIG. 14c.
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Lorenz, FIGS. 14a and 14c, annotated
Lorenz is silent as to a pair of cable holes extending through the head portion from a first longitudinal side of the bone plate connecting the first and second surfaces to a second longitudinal side of the bone plate connecting the first and second surfaces (claim 17); and the elongated opening in communication with the pair of cable holes, so that a crimp for crimping a portion of a cable is receivable therein (claim 24).
As to claim 17, Baldwin teaches a system for treating a periprosthetic fracture, in the same field of endeavor of long bone fixation systems, comprising a bone plate (300) including a head portion (305) sized and shaped to be positioned along a greater trochanter of a bone (par. [0026]), FIG. 13, and a shaft portion (310) that extends in a distal direction, and a pair of cable holes (340) extending through the head portion from a first longitudinal side of the bone plate to a second longitudinal side of the bone plate (par. [0027]), FIGS. 13-14B, a proximal end of the head portion including a pair of hooks (345) for engaging a superior ridge of the greater trochanter, FIG. 14A.
As to claim 24, Baldwin teaches the system of claim 17, wherein the head portion includes an elongated opening extending therethrough (FIG. 14B), in communication with the pair of cable holes, so that a crimp for crimping a portion of a cable is receivable therein (interpreted as language of intended use, and deemed anticipated by the prior art if the prior art is capable of performing said intended use; the elongated opening is fully capable of receiving a crimp of an appropriate size, since the cable holes are adjacent to and in communication with the elongated opening so the cable is fully capable of being passed through the elongated opening via the cable holes and can thus be crimped therein).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a pair of cable holes extending through the head portion of Lorenz’s bone plate from a first longitudinal side of the bone plate connecting the first and second surfaces to a second longitudinal side of the bone plate connecting the first and second surfaces, i.e. through the widths of the legs of the head portion, as taught by Baldwin, to provide another means of connection between the cable disclosed by Lorenz and the bone plate, so that the cable can be threaded through and across the head portion and through and across the elongated opening, for different fixation orientations as may be appropriate depending on the particular fracture. Providing additional cable holes through the head portion, in different orientations as taught by Baldwin to meet different fixation needs, would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention because the mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art.
Lorenz is silent as to the gaps between adjacent ones of the pairs of offset bone fixation holes extend a greater distance than the first distance between the holes in each pair; the shaft portion including an attachment opening disposed in one of the respective gaps, wherein the pairs of offset bone fixation holes are immediately adjacent each other, such that the attachment opening is the only opening that is disposed between adjacent ones of the pairs of offset bone fixation holes; wherein the attachment plate has a body opening that extends through the body portion and is configured to receive a plate fixation element that is sized to be received in the attachment opening so as to secure the attachment plate to the bone plate, the first and second bone fixation element receiving openings positioned and configured to receive respective bone screws so as to directly fix the laterally extending wings to the bone (claim 17); the first bone fixation element receiving opening of the attachment plate extending through a first one of the pair of laterally extending wings and the second bone fixation element receiving opening of the attachment plate extending through a second one of the pair of laterally extending wings (claim 20); wherein a lateral offset distance between the first and second bone fixation element receiving openings of the attachment plate is greater than a lateral offset distance between the first and second bone fixation holes of each pair of the plurality of pairs of offset bone fixation holes (claim 21); wherein the body portion has a proximal end and a distal end that are spaced from each other a distance along a direction defined by the longitudinal axis of the bone plate, and the distance corresponds to the distance of the gap between adjacent ones of the pairs of offset bone fixation holes (claim 28); wherein the attachment opening comprises a plurality of attachment openings each disposed in different ones of the respective gaps, and the body opening of the attachment plate is configured to receive the plate fixation element that is sized and configured to be selectively received in each of the attachment openings so as to selectively fix the attachment plate to the bone plate at multiple locations on the bone plate along the longitudinal direction (claim 29); wherein a common plane passes through each of the body opening and the first and second bone fixation element receiving openings of the attachment plate, wherein the common plane is oriented perpendicular to the distal direction (claim 33).
As to claim 17, Cavallazzi teaches a system for treating a periprosthetic fracture, in the same field of endeavor of long bone fixation systems, comprising: a bone plate (110) including a first surface which, when the bone plate is in an operative position, is configured to face away from a bone, and a second surface which, when the bone plate is in the operative position, is configured to face toward the bone, FIG. 4, the bone plate including: a head portion (140) sized and shaped to be positioned along a greater trochanter of a bone (col. 7 / lines 34-37), FIG. 4; and a shaft portion (142) that extends in a distal direction from the head portion, the shaft portion further including an attachment opening (148); and an attachment plate (150) including a body portion and a pair of laterally extending wings that extend from the body portion, wherein the attachment plate has a body opening (154) that extends through the body portion and is configured to receive a plate fixation element that is sized to be received in the attachment opening so as to secure the attachment plate to the bone plate (col. 7 / lines 48-54), wherein in the operative position, the laterally extending wings are configured to contact the bone, FIG. 4, the attachment plate defining first and second bone fixation element receiving openings extending through respective ones of the laterally extending wings, FIG. 5, the first and second bone fixation element receiving openings positioned and configured to receive respective bone screws so as to directly fix the laterally extending wings to the bone, FIG. 5.
As to claim 20, Cavallazzi teaches the system of claim 18, wherein each of the pair of laterally extending wings extends laterally beyond a respective one of the first and second longitudinal sides of the bone plate, the first bone fixation element receiving opening of the attachment plate extending through a first one of the pair of laterally extending wings and the second bone fixation element receiving opening of the attachment plate extending through a second one of the pair of laterally extending wings.
As to claim 28, Cavallazzi teaches the system of claim 27, wherein the body portion has a proximal end and a distal end that are spaced from each other a distance along a direction defined by the longitudinal axis of the bone plate.
As to claim 29, Cavallazzi teaches the system of claim 18, wherein the attachment opening comprises a plurality of attachment openings (148) each disposed along the shaft portion, and the body opening (154) of the attachment plate is configured to receive the plate fixation element that is sized and configured to be selectively received in each of the attachment openings so as to selectively fix the attachment plate to the bone plate at multiple locations on the bone plate along the longitudinal direction (col. 7 / lines 48-54).
As to claim 33, Cavallazzi teaches the system of claim 17, wherein a common plane (plane bisecting the attachment plate and running along its longitudinal axis, from left to right in FIG. 5) passes through each of the body opening and the first and second bone fixation element receiving openings of the attachment plate, FIG. 5, wherein the common plane is oriented perpendicular to the distal direction.
As to claim 17, Petit teaches a system for treating a periprosthetic fracture, in the same field of endeavor of long bone fixation systems, comprising: a bone plate (10), FIG. 2, including a first surface which, when the bone plate is in an operative position, is configured to face away from a bone, and a second surface which, when the bone plate is in the operative position, is configured to face toward the bone, the bone plate including: a head portion (30, 32) sized and shaped to be positioned along a greater trochanter of the bone (col. 5 / lines 41-50), the head portion including a plurality of pairs of bone fixation element receiving openings (48) extending therethrough from the first surface of the bone plate to the second surface of the bone plate, FIG. 6, a proximal end of the head portion including a pair of hooks (53) for engaging a superior ridge of the greater trochanter (col. 7 / lines 21-25); and a shaft portion (28) that extends in a distal direction from the head portion, the shaft portion including: i. a plurality of bone fixation holes (54) that extend from the first surface to the second surface and arranged as a plurality of pairs of offset bone fixation holes (col. 7 / lines 60-67) (three pairs shown in FIG. 6, with each pair including a 54 on the left and the adjacent 54 on the right), FIG. 6, each of the pairs of offset bone fixation holes including a first bone fixation hole at a first side of a longitudinal axis of the bone plate and a second bone fixation hole at a second side of the longitudinal axis opposite the first side, the first and second bone fixation holes of each pair offset relative to one another along a longitudinal direction defined by the longitudinal axis a first distance, wherein adjacent ones of the pairs of offset bone fixation holes are separated from each other by respective gaps that each extend a respective distance along the longitudinal direction greater than the first distance, FIG. 6; and ii. an attachment opening (66) disposed in one of the respective gaps (col. 8 / lines 12-18), wherein the pairs of offset bone fixation holes are immediately adjacent each other, such that the attachment opening is the only opening that is disposed between adjacent ones of the pairs of offset bone fixation holes, FIGS. 2 and 6.
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide an attachment plate as taught by Cavallazzi to the system of Lorenz, to provide screw fixation points to the bone beyond the longitudinal sides of the shaft portion which offers increased flexibility of fixation options to the practitioner as might be required based on bone condition and to avoid an underlying prosthesis, and laterally stabilizes the bone plate about the circumference of the bone. Lorenz contemplates the bone plate having transverse fixation extensions along its shaft portion (FIG. 10), and Cavallazzi contemplates the use of an attachment plate at a distal area of the shaft portion in addition to transverse fixation extensions at a proximal end of the shaft portion (FIG. 4). The system would be provided with the attachment plate as taught by Cavallazzi, having a pair of laterally extending wings that extend laterally beyond a respective one of the longitudinal sides of the bone plate, and a respective bone fixation element receiving opening through each wing to receive a bone screw to directly fix the laterally extending wings to the bone, to laterally stabilize the bone plate about the circumference of the bone. Because the attachment plate is sized relative to the bone plate so that the laterally extending wings extend laterally beyond a respective one of the longitudinal sides of the bone plate, a lateral offset distance between the first and second bone fixation element receiving openings through the wings of the attachment plate is greater than a lateral offset distance between the first and second holes of each pair of the plurality of pairs of offset holes, which do not extend laterally beyond the longitudinal sides of the bone plate since they are disposed along the bone plate shaft portion. The shaft portion of the bone plate of Lorenz would be provided with a plurality of threaded screw holes, i.e. attachment openings, spaced along the shaft portion and disposed along the longitudinal axis of the bone plate as taught by Cavallazzi in order to properly orient and attach the attachment plate to the bone plate at one of multiple locations along the longitudinal axis of the bone plate, by aligning the body opening through the attachment plate with the respective threaded screw hole/attachment opening of the bone plate to receive the plate fixation element. Since Lorenz require the pairs of offset holes along the shaft portion to be on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis and not along the longitudinal axis, the plurality of threaded screw holes along the longitudinal axis would be in addition to the pairs of offset holes.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide an attachment opening in each of the gaps between adjacent ones of the pairs of offset bone fixation holes, as taught by Petit, to accommodate a secondary fixation means between the pairs of offset holes. As taught by Petit, this secondary fixation means is a cable that provides fixation outside of the perimeter of the plate, and as taught by Cavallazzi, this secondary fixation means is the attachment plate. Spacing the offset holes in each pair closer together, as taught by Petit, would save space along the length of the bone plate while still providing for various fixation points. The plate would also be modified in view of Petit so that the offset bone fixation holes are located on ears of the bone plate shaft portion that extend away from the longitudinal axis, to allow for fixation while spacing the holes in each pair close together without overlap or interference. The secondary fixation means would however need a greater distance along the plate than provided between the offset holes in one pair, therefore requiring the greater gap between adjacent pairs of offset holes, as taught by Petit. Therefore, the gaps between adjacent ones of the pairs of offset bone fixation holes would extend a greater distance than the first distance between the holes in each pair, as taught by Petit. A threaded screw hole, or attachment opening, taught by Cavallazzi would thus be provided between each of the pairs of offset bone fixation holes, to provide a plurality of fixation locations for the attachment plate along a direction defined by the longitudinal axis. This is the secondary fixation means also taught by Petit. Providing a threaded screw hole along the shaft portion between any two adjacent pairs of offset holes would place the threaded screw hole/attachment opening in the respective gap between the adjacent pairs of offset bone fixation holes. Then, the attachment plate which is mounted to the threaded screw hole by a plate fixation element, would also be mountable between adjacent pairs of offset holes. The pairs of offset bone fixation holes are immediately adjacent each other, such that the attachment opening is the only opening that is disposed between adjacent ones of the pairs of offset bone fixation holes. For example, the two holes in the shaft portion in Lorenz’s plate that are closest to the head portion comprise one pair of offset bone fixation holes, and the two immediately distal holes comprise a second pair. In view of Petit, these pairs will be spaced by an increased gap greater than the first distance between the holes in each pair, and in view of Cavallazzi and Petit, an attachment opening will be in this gap. The attachment opening is the only opening between these adjacent pairs of holes. The same gap spacing and attachment opening location will be provided for the next pair of offset bone fixation holes. The attachment plate would be sized to fit between and not obscure the offset holes adjacent the threaded screw hole so as not to block their use; the body portion of the attachment plate would thus have a length (a distance between its proximal and distal ends) that corresponds to the distance of the gap between adjacent ones of the pairs of offset bone fixation holes, because the length would be complementary to the distance between the nearest holes of the adjacent pairs. The term “corresponds” means similar to; the length of the body portion is similar to the distance between the adjacent pairs since the attachment plate is not to obscure the holes.
Claims 26, 34, and 35 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lorenz in view of Baldwin, Cavallazzi, and Petit (hereinafter, “Lorenz/Baldwin/Cavallazzi/Petit”), as applied to claims 17, 18, 20-25, 28, 29, and 33 above, and further in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2016/0192968 to Chan et al. (hereinafter, “Chan”).
As to claim 26, Lorenz/Baldwin/Cavallazzi/Petit disclose the system of claim 18, wherein the shaft portion includes a distal portion extending in the distal direction from the proximal portion configured to extend along a portion of the bone distal of the prosthetic, in the operative position.
Lorenz/Baldwin/Cavallazzi/Petit are silent as to the distal portion including a plurality of fixation openings (claim 26); wherein each of the fixation openings comprises a variable angle opening and a compression opening that is open to the variable angle opening (claim 34); wherein adjacent ones of the fixation openings are spaced from each other along the longitudinal direction a respective distance that is less than the distance of the gap (claim 35).
Chan teaches a bone plate comprising a shaft portion including a distal portion including a plurality of fixation openings (2884) (par. [0091]), FIG. 28; wherein each of the fixation openings comprises a variable angle opening (2885) and a compression opening (2886) that is open to the variable angle opening, FIG. 28; wherein adjacent ones of the fixation openings are spaced from each other along the longitudinal direction a respective distance.
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a distal portion of the shaft portion with a plurality of combination fixation openings as taught by Chan for increased versatility, where different portions of each combination fixation opening can receive a non-locking bone screw or a variable-angle locking bone screw which can be useful based on the condition of the far cortex and whether a non-locking or locking bone screw would be more appropriate for secure fixation. Since Chan teaches that the holes in the proximal and distal portions of the shaft portion are spaced by similar distances, then the openings in the distal portion would be spaced by similar distances as the holes as disclosed by Lorenz/Baldwin/Cavallazzi/Petit. If the fixation openings in the distal portion are spaced similarly to the spacing between holes in each pair of offset holes, this spacing distance is less than the distance of the gap, as taught above. If the fixation openings in the distal portion are spaced similarly to one of the offset holes and the adjacent attachment opening, then this spacing distance is also less than (half) the distance of the gap since the attachment opening is in the gap.
Claim 36 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lorenz/Baldwin/Cavallazzi/Petit in view of Chan (hereinafter, “Lorenz/Baldwin/Cavallazzi/Petit/Chan”), as applied to claims 26, 34, and 35 above, and further in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2010/0262194 to Wagner et al. (hereinafter, “Wagner”) and U.S. Patent No. US 8,328,809 to Wenk et al. (hereinafter, “Wenk”)
As to claim 36, Lorenz/Baldwin/Cavallazzi/Petit/Chan are silent as to wherein the adjacent ones of the fixation openings are on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis, and offset toward the longitudinal axis with respect to the plurality of bone fixation holes.
Wagner teaches a bone plate comprising combination openings, where adjacent ones of the combination openings are on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of the bone plate, FIG. 6.
Wenk teaches that a bone plate has a tail/distal portion with a narrower dimension than a rest of the bone plate, where adjacent ones of the fixation openings on the tail are on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis, and offset toward the longitudinal axis with respect to bone fixation holes on a proximal portion of the bone plate in order to fit on the narrower tail.
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the distal portion of the bone plate narrower, as taught by Wenk, in order to better fit over a portion of the bone with minimal damage to the surrounding tissue, and to correspondingly arrange the plurality of combination fixation openings as taught by Chan on the distal portion of the bone plate so that they are offset toward the longitudinal axis with respect to the bone fixation holes on the proximal portion in order to best fit on the narrower distal portion. Further, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to offset adjacent ones of the fixation openings on the distal portion on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis, as taught by Wenk and since Wagner teaches adjacent ones of combination openings can be on opposite sides of a longitudinal axis of a bone plate, to provide even more increased versatility to the positioning of the screws placed therethrough, providing more placement opportunities in a lateral direction, to accommodate different bone morphologies and qualities.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 TRACY L KAMIKAWA whose telephone number is (571)270-7276. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10:00-6:30 PM.
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/TRACY L KAMIKAWA/Examiner, Art Unit 3775