CATALYST FOR ELECTRODES, COMPOSITION FOR FORMING GAS DIFFUSION ELECTRODE, GAS DIFFUSION ELECTRODE, MEMBRANE ELECTRODE ASSEMBLY, AND FUEL CELL STACK
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
In response to communication filed on 2/23/2026:
Claims 1-8 and 10-19 have been amended; claim 9 has been canceled. No new matter has been entered. Claims 11, 12, and 14 have been rejoined.
Previous drawing objections have been withdrawn.
Previous rejections under 35 USC 102(a)(1)/103 and 103 have been withdrawn due to amendment.
Previous claim objections and 35 USC 112(b) rejections have been modified due to amendment and rejoinder of withdrawn claims.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: The beginning of claim 1 needs to be amended to read “A catalyst for an electrode…”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 12 is objected to because of the following informalities: line 2 of claim needs to be amended to read “the catalyst particles are Appropriate correction is required.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 9-18, filed 2/23/2026, with respect to Ohma et al. (US 2016/0072134), Yoshikawa et al. (JP 2003-109608 A), Huang et al. (J. Electroanal. Chem., 728 (2014) 112-117) have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejections under 35 USC 102(a)(1)/103 and 103 have been withdrawn.
Applicant’s amendments have resulted in new grounds of rejection under 35 USC 112(b) (See below).
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.
Claims 1-8 and 10-21 are 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 1 discloses “the surface of each catalyst particle”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claims 2-6 disclose “the interconnected pore”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claims.
Claim 3 discloses “the first side”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Further, where is this first side?
Claim 4 discloses “the second side”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Further, where is this second side?
Claim 5 discloses “the third side perpendicular to the first side”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Further, where is this third side?
Claim 6 discloses “the fourth side perpendicular to the first side”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Further, where is this fourth side?
Claim 12 discloses “the surface of the core particles”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Further, there is a discrepancy between this limitation and that in claim 1 now being that claim 1 has been amended to read “the surface of each catalyst particle”.
Claim 15 discloses “the surface of the catalyst particles”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Further, there is a discrepancy between this limitation and that in claim 1 now being that claim 1 has been amended to read “the surface of each catalyst particle”.
Claims 7-8, 10-11, 13-14, and 16-21 are also rejected under 35 USC 112(b) for their dependence on claim 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 1 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
Claims 2-8 and 10-21 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
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 DANIEL S GATEWOOD whose telephone number is (571)270-7958. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-5:30.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ula Tavares-Crockett can be reached at 571-272-1481. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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Daniel S. Gatewood, Ph.D.
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1729
/DANIEL S GATEWOOD, Ph. D/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1729 March 31st, 2026
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