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 § 102 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. Claims 11-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2020/0099061 A1 to Price et al. (Price) . As to claim s 11 , 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 18 , Price teaches a catalyst coated membrane comprising a three layered proton exchange membrane, an anode catalyst comprising iridium oxide with a noble metal loading of, for example, 0.4 mg/cm 2 applied to a first side of the membrane and a cathode catalyst comprising platinum on a carbon support applied to an opposite second side of the membrane. Price further teaches that each of the membrane layers can be formed of Nafion, and that any three layers of the membrane can comprise a reinforcing material formed of expanded PTFE with the thickness of each layer being independently, for example, 7 to 40 microns ( Abstract; Paragraphs 0055-0060, 0068, 0069, 0070, 0082, 0086-0088, 0101 and 0 106 ; Figure 1 ) , thus teaching an embodiment wherein the central layer is not reinforced and the outer layers are reinforced and an embodiment substantially equivalent to Applicant’s own disclosure (Specification Example 1) and thus, as evidenced by Applicant’s disclosure, inherently possessing the property of “an areal expansion of the catalyst-coated membrane is less than 15% after being held for two hours in water heater to 100° C ” (MPEP 2113) . As to claim 17, Price teaches the membrane of claim 11. Price further teaches that the iridium catalyst can be supported on antimony doped tin oxide (Paragraph 0101) . As to claim 19, Price teaches the membrane of claim 11. As discussed above, Price teaches that the membrane thickness is from 7 to 40 microns. Price further teaches that the proton exchange membrane comprises a recombination catalyst (Paragraphs 0055-0060) . As to claim 20, as discussed above, Price teaches the catalyst coated membrane of claim 11. Price further teaches that the membrane is utilized in a water electrolysis cell (Abstract) . Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT CIEL P Contreras whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-7946 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT M-F 9 AM to 4 PM . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT James Lin can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-272-8902 . The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /CIEL P CONTRERAS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1794