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. Election/Restrictions Applicant’s election without traverse of group II, claims 27-31 in the reply filed on 2/13/2026 is acknowledged. Claim s 1, 3, 5-6, 13-20 , and 22-24 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse. Claim Objections Claim s 28-29 are objected to because of the following informalities. Appropriate correction is required. 28-29. The limitation “selected” should be “is selected.” Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. § 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. Claim s 27-31 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, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention. 27. The limitation “ material s selected from the group consisting of tantalum, niobium, a tantalum-niobium alloy, titanium and a titanium alloy ” makes unclear whether only one metallic material is required or whether a plurality is required due to the plural word “materials” and the fact that a tantalum-niobium alloy is claimed which suggests that the separately claimed tantalum and niobium may be pure tantalum and niobium. Thus this claim is indefinite. It is noted that at least claim 1 also suffers from the same issue. For purposes of examination either interpretation can apply. 28-31. These claims are rejected for being dependent upon a rejected claim. Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. § 102 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. Claim s 27-31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Liu et al., CN 101717982 A . A machine translation was used for Liu et al. [hereinafter Liu]. The body of the claim is generally written with parentheses following the limitations indicating the prior art's teachings and/or examiner notes. 27. A colored product (colored titanium alloy; Liu title, abstract) manufactured according to the method of claim 1 (this is a product-by-process limitation, and Liu teaches the product and thus does not need to teach claim 1’s process) , comprising: (1) a product substrate (titanium core which can be for mobile phone cases; Liu title, abstract, [0004], [0028]) ; and (2) an … metal oxide layer and/or a lithium-containing compound layer formed on the surface of the product substrate (titanium oxide; Liu abstract, [0023], [0028]) , wherein the product substrate is made of materials selected from the group consisting of tantalum, niobium, a tantalum-niobium alloy, titanium and a titanium alloy (titanium; Liu abstract, [0023], [0028]) . Liu is silent on amorphous . However, the specification states: Preferably, the anodic oxidation method is carried out under the following conditions: the temperature of the electrolyte solution is 20°C-600°C, the anode voltage is 1V-800V, the constant voltage time is 0.01-2 hours, and the boosting current density is 1-200mA/cm 2 , so as to form an amorphous metal oxide layer on the surface of substrates such as shell substrates and mobile phone shell substrates. The electrolyte solution comprises an aqueous solution, a mixture of an aqueous solution and an organic compound, and a non-aqueous solution. App. Spec. p. 8 (emphasis added) . Liu teaches the anodic oxidation method can be carried out by the temperature of the electrolyte solution is 20°C-600°C (15-35°C; Liu [0028]), the anode voltage is 1V-800V (8-96 V; id. ), the constant voltage time is 0.01-2 hours (1-10 minutes; id. ), and the boosting current density is 1-200mA/cm 2 (5-10 A/dm 2 , or 50-100 mA/cm 2 ; id. ) … [t]he electrolyte solution comprises an aqueous solution, a mixture of an aqueous solution and an organic compound, and a non-aqueous solution (aqueous electrolyte; Liu claim 3, [0028]). Because Liu teaches the conditions that the specification teaches would lead to a n amorphous metal oxide layer, Liu would inherently form an amorphous metal oxide layer. 28. The colored product according to claim 27, wherein the amorphous metal oxide selected from the group consisting of amorphous tantalum pentoxide, amorphous niobium pentoxide, amorphous titanium dioxide, and mixtures thereof (because Liu teaches the anodization conditions that lead to the amorphous metal oxide layer, the layer would inherently be titanium dioxide) . See claim 27 rejection. 29. The colored product according to claim 27 or 28, wherein the lithium-containing compound selected from the group consisting of lithium tantalate, lithium niobate, and mixtures thereof ( Liu teaches the amorphous metal oxide layer embodiment option taught in claim 27 so does not need to teach the lithium containing compound layer embodiment option ) . 30 -31 . (claim 30) The colored product according to claim 27, wherein the colored product comprises shells, such as mobile phone shells , computer shells , rings, bracelets, necklaces, watch straps , Buddha statues, human figures, or animal images , and (claim 31 ) t he colored product according to claim 30, wherein the mobile phone shell is a mobile phone body outer shell, a mobile phone decorative outer shell , or a mobile phone protective outer shell (a person having ordinary skill in the art would understand that Liu’s mobile phone case would go on as an outer shell since it is a case, it would be decorative since it is colored, and it would protect since it is anodized) . See Liu title, abstract, [0004]. Claim 28 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Liu as applied to claim 27 previously , and further in view of Tian et al., CN 110499508 A. A machine translation was used for Tian et al. [hereinafter Tian]. 28. This serves as an alternative rejection for the previous claim 28 rejection. Tian teaches a titanium dioxide layer improves the corrosion resistance, wear resistance, salt spray resistance, and water boiling resistance. Tian [0009], [0024], [0030], [0044]. Therefore, it would have been obvious with a reasonable expectation of success to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the aforementioned prior art’s titanium oxide to be Tian’s titanium dioxide in order to improve the corrosion resistance, wear resistance, salt spray resistance, and water boiling resistance. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT Hosung Chung whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571) 270-7578 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday-Wednesday, 9 AM - 6 PM CT . If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT James Lin can be reached on 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. /HOSUNG CHUNG/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1794