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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 5, 6 and 9-20 are canceled. Claims 1-4, 7 and 8 are pending where claim 1 has been amended.
Status of Previous Rejections
The previous 35 USC § 112 rejections of the claims have been withdrawn in view of amendments to the claims.
The previous 35 USC § 102/103 rejections of the claims have been maintained.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102/103
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-4, 7 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over DE 2031723 to Greetham et al (cited by applicant in IDS, the English language translation of AU 1676870 provided by applicant has been relied upon for examination purposes).
Regarding claims 1-4, Greetham discloses an alloy having an iron-rich phase and a copper-rich phase, wherein the alloy comprises nickel, which the instant specification repeatedly notes forms a complete solid solution with each of iron and copper, wherein the alloy comprises the following composition, which lies within the instantly claimed composition as follows (Greetham, pages 2 and 8, Table I, Alloy D)
Element
Claimed at%
Greetham D wt%
Greetham D at%
Lies within?
Fe
15-80
42
39.5
Yes
Cu
1-30
17.9
14.78
Yes
Ni
1-20
2.8
2.5
Yes
Al
5-20
7
13.6
Yes
Mn
5-20
17.7
16.9
Yes
Cr
2-15
12.6
12.7
Yes
C
0-5
≤impurity
≤impurity
Yes
Si
0-2
≤impurity
≤impurity
Yes
P
0-2
≤impurity
≤impurity
Yes
Regarding the limitation “wherein the high-entropy alloy has an entropy of 1.0R or more,” when the structure recited in the reference is substantially identical to that of the claims, claimed properties or functions are presumed to be inherent. Where the claimed and prior art products are identical or substantially identical in structure or composition, or are produced by identical or substantially identical processes, a prima facie case of either anticipation or obviousness has been established (see MPEP 2112.01 [R-3].) In the instant case, the alloy of Greetham would be expected to have the same or similar entropy as the instantly claimed alloy because the alloy of Greetham has the same or substantially the same composition and structure. Therefore, a rejection based alternatively on either 35 U.S.C. 102 or 35 U.S.C. 103 is eminently fair and acceptable.
Regarding claims 7 and 8, when the structure recited in the reference is substantially identical to that of the claims, claimed properties or functions are presumed to be inherent. Where the claimed and prior art products are identical or substantially identical in structure or composition, or are produced by identical or substantially identical processes, a prima facie case of either anticipation or obviousness has been established (see MPEP 2112.01 [R-3].) In the instant case, the alloy of Greetham would be expected to have the same or similar volume ratio and composition of the copper-rich and iron-rich phases as the instantly claimed alloy because the alloy of Greetham has the same or substantially the same composition and structure. Therefore, a rejection based alternatively on either 35 U.S.C. 102 or 35 U.S.C. 103 is eminently fair and acceptable.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 8/27/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues “Greetham does not dislcose or suggest the claimed high- entropy alloy and it specific atomic percentage ranges. In partiuclar, Greetham does not disclose or suggest the specific atomic percentage ranges of manganese and chromium.” This is not found persuasive because Greetham discloses a specific example, alloy D (Greetham, pages 2 and 8, Table I, Alloy D), which lies wholly within the instantly claimed composition ranges as set forth in the above 35 USC 102/103 rejection of the claims over Greetham. In particular, alloy D of Greetham contains 16.9 at% Mn and 12.7 at% Cr, lying within the instantly claimed limitations of 5 to 20 at% Mn and 2 to 15 at% Cr.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. KR 20200006906 and US 2017/0275745 (both cited by applicant in IDS) both appear to discloses an alloy relevant to at least instant claim 1.
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 BRIAN D WALCK whose telephone number is (571)270-5905. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10 AM - 6:30 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sally Merkling can be reached at 571-272-6297. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRIAN D WALCK/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1738