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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 3 requires the crystallized glass has precipitated therein one or more kinds of crystals selected from a group that includes zirconia. Note that claim 3 depends from claim 1 and that claim 1 already requires having zirconia crystals precipitated. As such, it is unclear if Applicant intends to claim the crystals listed in claim 3 in addition to the zirconia of claim 1 or in the alternative since claim 3 also lists zirconia as a type of crystal.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Beall et al. (US 2016/0280589).
Beall discloses a glass-based material comprising a glass phase and a second phase that is different from and is dispersed in the glass phase, see abstract. The second phase may comprise a crystalline or nanocrystalline phase and may include anorthite, see abstract and [0038]. The glass-based material has a transmittance of at least about 88% over a visible spectrum ranging from about 400 nm to about 700 nm, see abstract. Additionally, the reference discloses the crystalline phase may include from about 10 volume % to about 98 volume % of the glass-based material [0037]; see MPEP 2144.05 I.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 4-5, filed November 3, 2025, with respect to 1-8 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of claims 1-8 under 35 U.S.C. 103 has been withdrawn. Note that claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112 based on its dependency from amended claim 1, see above discussion.
Regarding claim 9, Applicant's arguments filed November 3, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Note that Applicant argues that the rejection of claim 9 should be withdrawn based on its dependency from claim 1; however, claim 9 does not depend from claim 1. As such, Examiner respectfully maintains the rejection.
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 LAURA A AUER whose telephone number is (571)270-5669. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9 am - 4 pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, M. Veronica Ewald can be reached at (571)272-8519. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LAURA A AUER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1783