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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This is a final Office Action in response to a non-final Office Action reply filed 2/26/26 in which claims 1, 4 and 8 were amended and claim 5 was canceled.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-4, 6-7 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al (US 2006/0202385, already of record) in view of Rothrock et al (US 2010/0190654).
Xu et al teach a method for manufacturing a mold element for the production of microarrays, comprising the following steps: providing a planar base element (Fig. 6A – element 22) having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface; providing a planar auxiliary element on the second surface (element 24); penetrating the base element from the first surface in order to form mold openings; and reversibly or non-reversibly entering the auxiliary element when penetrating the base element; wherein the penetration is effected by embossing, and wherein the embossing is effected with an embossing tool, which is an embossing die, having at least one projection that is complementary to at least a part of the mold openings (Fig. 6A & 6B, [0059], [0062] & [0064]); cooling the base element and preferably auxiliary element after entry; and removing the auxiliary element from the base element ([0063]).
Xu et al do not teach the embossing is carried out by an embossing roller.
However, in a related field of endeavor pertaining to micro and/or nanoarrays, Rothrock et al teach the interchangeability of stamping and large scale rollers as processing alternatives ([0098]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Rothrock et al with those of Xu et al by using an embossing roller to carry out the embossing in order to allow for high throughput fabrication as suggested by Rothrock et al ([0098]).
Also, though Xu et al do not teach the auxiliary element is connected to the base element; providing the base element and providing the auxiliary element is done by providing a composite element comprising the base element and the auxiliary element; and the auxiliary element is detachably adhesively connected to the base element; using an adhesive to detachably connect two elements is well known and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the auxiliary element be connected to the base element; providing the base element and providing the auxiliary element be done by providing a composite element comprising the base element and the auxiliary element; and the auxiliary element be detachably adhesively connected to the base element in order to reduce the number of loose parts and ensure good alignment between the parts for embossing.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 2/26/26 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
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 extension fee 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 JAMES SANDERS whose telephone number is (571)270-7007. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 11-7.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Galen Hauth can be reached on 571-270-5516. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JAMES SANDERS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1743
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