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 § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-11 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because the preamble of the claims recite a computer-readable “recording medium”. As presented in the claims, a “recording medium” may include transitory media, signals, etc. The examiner suggests that the claims be amended to recite a “non-transitory” medium, a “storage device”, or some other similar language.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-11 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 101, set forth in this Office action.
Claims 12-13 allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The prior art does not teach or suggest a recording medium/method/device with the combination of steps/elements in the claims including, among other elements, the analysis/determination of disposal information for cut metals according to the criteria of the claims, in combination with the other analysis and design elements of the claims.
Peng et al. US 2020/0135637 A1 discloses routing and patterning including positioning a cut metal pattern, without the same analysis/determination of disposal information for cut metals according to the criteria of the claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRYCE M AISAKA whose telephone number is (571)270-5808. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 6:30AM-5:00PM PT.
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, Jack Chiang can be reached at (571)272-7483. 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.
/BRYCE M AISAKA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2851