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
Withdrawn Rejection
The 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection of claims 16-35 in the Office action mailed on September 10, 2025, is withdrawn due to Applicant’s amendment in the response filed on December 8, 2025.
New Rejection
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 16-33, 35-36 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, regards as the invention.
It is unclear in lines 11-12 of claim 16, how the humectant is a water-soluble alcohol having a melting point of less than 20[Symbol font/0xB0]C which renders it a liquid such that it is not a solid at 20[Symbol font/0xB0]C, and therefore cannot be part of a solid ink composition that is solid at 20[Symbol font/0xB0]C.
Claims 17-33, 35-36 depend on and contain all the subject matter of claim 16, but fail to provide any solutions to the indefinite issue described above.
Clarification and amendment, accompanied by relevant citation(s) from the specification and/or teaching references, are required.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant's disclosure. US 2001/0045175 and EP-0314189-A2.
Any inquiry concerning this communication should be directed to Sow-Fun Hon whose telephone number is (571)272-1492. The examiner is on a flexible schedule but can usually be reached during a regular workweek between the hours of 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Aaron Austin, can be reached at (571)272-8935. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571)273-8300.
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/Sophie Hon/
Sow-Fun Hon
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1782
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