REFILLABLE WRITING TOOL FOR A WATER-BASED INK COMPOSITION

Application No. 18/003,655

• Filed: Dec 28, 2022
• Priority: Jun 30, 2020 — EU 20315330.9
  • Jun 28, 2021 — nonprovisional of PCTEP2021067639
• Examiner: HON, SOW FUN
• Art Unit: 1782
• Tech Center: 1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
• Assignee: Société Bic
• OA Round: 2 (Non-Final)

Office Action

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Withdrawn Rejections
The 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection of claims 25-29 in the Office action mailed on September 10, 2025 is withdrawn due to Applicant’s response filed on December 8, 2025.
The 35 U.S.C. 102(a/) and 35 U.S.C. 103 rejections of claims 16-22, 25-26, 30-35 over Nagaswa as the primary reference, as evidenced by Wikipedia (trimethylolpropane), are withdrawn due to Applicant’s response filed on December 8, 2025.
.

New Rejections
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, 24-29 and 33-44 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 independent claims 16, 40-41, 43, what is meant by the limitation of “a balance of water” when there are no weights or volumes specified. Clarification and/or amendment with relevant citation(s) from the specification are required.
Claims 24-29 and 33-39, 42, 44 depend on and include all the subject matter of the respective independent claims, but fail to provide any solutions to the indefinite issue described above.

Any inquiry concerning this communication should be directed to Sow-Fun Hon whose telephone number is [phone]. 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 [phone]. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is [phone].
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Center (https://patentcenter.uspto.gov). Should you have any questions on the Patent Center system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Sophie Hon/
Sow-Fun Hon
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1782

Prosecution Timeline

• Dec 28, 2022: Application Filed
• Sep 10, 2025: Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
• Dec 08, 2025: Response Filed
• Mar 25, 2026: Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)