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 .
Status of the Claims
Claims 1, 8, and 15-22 are currently pending. Claims 1, 8, 18, 19, and 22 were amended in the reply filed July 15, 2025. Claims 2-5 and 10-14 were cancelled.
Priority
Application 18/319,499 was filed on May 18, 2023 and claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-081621 filed on May 18, 2022.
Response to Arguments
Objections
Applicant's amendments overcome the objection made to claim 22 and it is withdrawn
35 U.S.C. § 103
Applicant's arguments filed with respect to the rejections made under § 103 have been fully considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection. Examiner notes that the motivation to combine the teachings of Kashida, Kurtz, and Katoh is included in the 103 rejection below.
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, 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 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1, 8, 11, 18-20, and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014/0258058 to Kashida (Kashida) in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2004/0122751 to Kurtz et al. (Kurtz) in further view of U.S. Patent Publication No. U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0159768 to Katoh et al. (Katoh) and in further view of U.S. Patent Publication No. U.S. Patent Publication No. 2016/0035042 to Bomze et al. (Bomze).
As to claims 1, 18, and 19, Kashida teaches, a terminal apparatus that comprises a hardware processor (“At the remote office R1, terminals [i.e., terminal apparatuses] 60-1 to 60-n (called "terminals 60", hereafter) of workers are connected with a print device [i.e., image forming apparatus] 50 via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) for communication. The terminal 60 is, for example, a PC (Personal Computer). However, a tablet-type terminal, a smart phone, a cellular phone or the like, may be used as the terminal 60 …” and “FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a print device 50 according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 2, the print device 50 includes an authentication request part 51, a print control part 52, a usage log generation part 53, a content log generation part 54, a log transmission part 55, and the like. These parts are implemented by procedures that one or more programs installed in the portable terminal [i.e., terminal apparatus] 10 have the CPU 101 execute” [0029-0030 and 0034]);
a printer that receives instructions from the hardware processor of the terminal apparatus to perform printing based on a preset print setting (“… The print device 50 is, for example, a printer, a combined machine, a copy machine, or the like …” and “… The usage log is generated based on a group of setting values of print setting items in the print setting information that relate to (affect) the print cost …” [0029-0031 and 0036] Examiner notes that, under the broadest reasonable interpretation and per paragraph [0033] of Applicant’s specification, a “preset print setting” is interpreted to include any print setting that affects how an image is printed by a printer);
and a printing cost calculation apparatus that comprises a hardware processor and communicates with the terminal apparatus (“A cost management apparatus [i.e., printing cost calculation apparatus] 10 is one or more computers connected with the print device [i.e., terminal apparatus] 50 via a network such as a LAN or the Internet. Namely, multiple computers may constitute the cost management apparatus 10. The cost management apparatus 10 is operated by, for example, an administrator of the remote office. In FIG. 1, the cost management apparatus 10 includes a user authentication part 11, a log collection part 12, a cost calculation part 13, a billing part 14, and the like …” [0031]),
wherein the hardware processor of the terminal apparatus transmits, to the printing cost calculation apparatus, calculation information that is necessary for calculating a printing cost and includes apparatus-specific information unique to the printer (“… Next, the log transmission part [of the terminal apparatus] 55 transmits the generated log data [i.e., calculation information] to the log collection part [of the printing cost calculation apparatus] 12 (Step S160). The log data includes the usage log [i.e., information unique to the image forming apparatus] at least. If the content log is generated, the log data also includes the content log …” [0056-0058]),
outputs a calculation result of the printing cost to the terminal apparatus (“… The billing part [of the printing cost calculation apparatus] 14 determines a billing destination of the cost calculated by the cost calculation part 13, and transmits [i.e., outputs] information that indicates a billing amount of the cost [i.e., calculation result] and the like (called "billing information", hereafter) to the billing destination …” [0032]),
and causes the terminal apparatus to instruct the printer to perform the printing (“… As an example of inputting the account information via the operation panel of the print device 50, there is a case where the print device 50 preserves print data until the authentication succeeds, and upon the success of the authentication, executes a print job for the print data” and “… If the response indicates success of the authentication (Step S110 YES), the print control part 52 has the print device 50 execute a print job based on the received print data (Step S120) …” [0035 and 0052]).
Kashida does not teach, wherein the apparatus-specific information includes a unit price of ink; upon permitting the payment, calculates the printing cost based on the unit price of ink and the amount of ink. However, Kurtz teaches, wherein the apparatus-specific information includes a unit price of ink (“… The data may, for example, comprise the amount of toner or ink (monotone or color) consumed and the number of pieces of paper consumed …” and “… Therefore, the calculation may be determined by a fixed or variable rate per consumable resource, such as rate per printed page, rate per unit weight of toner or ink used, etc. …” [0033-0035 and 0045]);
upon permitting the payment, calculates the printing cost based on the unit price of ink and the amount of ink (“… Once the data corresponding to reimbursable items is gathered (see, e.g., FIG. 6), the central reimbursement manager 214 receives reimbursement information via the network 108, as indicated in block 712. As noted above, this information may be information that can be directly used to calculate the reimbursement (e.g., the amount of paper, toner, or ink used) …” [0038-0045]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filling date of the invention to include, wherein the apparatus-specific information includes a unit price of ink; upon permitting the payment, calculates the printing cost based on the unit price of ink and the amount of ink, as taught by Kurtz with the print cost calculation system of Kashida. Motivation to do so comes from the teachings of Kurtz that doing so would encourage employees to work at home or at other off-site locations to increase employee output [0004].
Kashida in view of Kurtz does not teach, virtually forms an image based on the preset print setting and the calculation information and obtains an amount of ink used for printing from the formed image. However, Katoh teaches, virtually forms an image based on the preset print setting and the calculation information and obtains an amount of ink used for printing from the formed image (“… Next, the simulating unit calculates the cost based on the ink consumption amount (step S3). FIG. 3C shows example data of the calculated cost …” [0059-0066]);
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filling date of the invention to include, virtually forms an image based on the preset print setting and the calculation information and obtains an amount of ink used for printing from the formed image, as taught by Katoh with the print cost calculation system of Kashida in view of Kurtz. Motivation to do so comes from the teachings of Katoh that doing so would reduce the running cost including ink/toner consumption costs, a cost charged based on the number of printed sheets, and a unit cost [0004].
Kashida in view of Kurtz and in further view of Katoh does not teach, and the hardware processor of the printing cost calculation apparatus: permits payment for the printing cost upon determining that a current time is within business hours based on attendance information of a user of the user terminal. However, Bomze teaches, and the hardware processor of the printing cost calculation apparatus: permits payment for the [business] cost upon determining that a current time is within business hours based on attendance information of a user of the user terminal (“… The user's account email address (835) provides the functionality for the user to log out of the web system and also to access additional user settings, with some examples including: … set business hours for auto-classification …” and “FIG. 9 shows the user experience for setting classification rules as a function of time of drives. As an example, if the customer is a courier who is only able to expense mileage between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm on weekdays, but knows that every drive he makes during that time window is a drive that he would expense, then he can establish rules for auto-classification …” [0133 and 0144]);
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filling date of the invention to include, and the hardware processor of the printing cost calculation apparatus: permits payment for the [business] cost upon determining that a current time is within business hours based on attendance information of a user of the user terminal, as taught by Bomze with the print cost calculation system of Kashida in view of Kurtz and in further view of Katoh. Motivation to do so comes from the teachings of Bomze that doing so would simplify the process of classifying and submitting [business expenses] for reimbursement/tax credit [0007].
While Bomze teaches payment for a business cost, Bomze does not teach that the business cost is a printing cost. However, Kurtz teaches, that the business costs is a printing cost (“FIG. 5 illustrates a high-level example of operation of the system 100 in processing reimbursement. With the system 100, a user may automatically reimburse a user account for resources consumed while working at an off-site location. Reimbursable items may not only include physical resources, such as paper, toner, and ink, but also include non-physical resources, such as access time (e.g., Internet access) …” [0033-0035]). Since each individual element and its function are shown in the art, albeit shown in separate references, the difference between the claimed subject matter and the prior art rests not on any individual element or function but in the very combination itself—that is in the substitution of the printing cost of Kurtz for the business cost of Bomze. Thus, the simple substitution of one known element for another producing a predictable result renders the claim obvious Motivation to do so comes from the teachings of Kurtz that doing so would encourage employees to work at home or at other off-site locations to increase employee output [0004].
(Examiner’s Note: The wording of claim 1 is used in the citations above. The wording of claims 18 and 19 differs, however, the limitations are the same. Thus, the same analysis applies.)
As to claim 8, Kashida in view of Kurtz in further view of Katoh and in further view of Bomze teaches all of the limitations of claim 1 as discussed above. Kashida does not teach, a cost settlement device that pays the printing cost calculated by the printing cost calculation apparatus to the user of the terminal apparatus. However, Kurtz teaches, a cost settlement device that pays the printing cost calculated by the printing cost calculation apparatus to the user of the terminal apparatus (“… In block 502, the system [i.e., cost settlement device] 100 reimburses the user using the sent data. This reimbursement may occur on a periodic basis (e.g., weekly, monthly, or quarterly). Generally speaking, the system 100 calculates the reimbursement [i.e., printing cost] depending on the nature and amount of consumed resources. For example, the amount the user is reimbursed per printed page may depend upon the type of paper used, the amount of toner or ink (monotone or color) used, the type of toner or ink, etc. … FIG. 6 illustrates an example of operation of an off-site reimbursement manager that facilitates reimbursement for work-related matters. This manager can comprise the off-site reimbursement manager 318 of the user computing device [i.e., terminal apparatus] 102, or the optional manager 418 of the printing device 106 …” [0034-0036]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filling date of the invention to include, a cost settlement device that pays the printing cost calculated by the printing cost calculation apparatus to the user of the terminal apparatus, as taught by Kurtz with the print cost calculation system of Kashida. Motivation to do so comes from the teachings of Kurtz that doing so would encourage employees to work at home or at other off-site locations to increase employee output [0004].
As to claim 20, Kashida in view of Kurtz in further view of Katoh and in further view of Bomze teaches all of the limitations of claim 19 as discussed above. Kashida further teaches, a terminal apparatus that instructs a printer to perform printing based on a preset print setting (“… The print device 50 is, for example, a printer, a combined machine, a copy machine, or the like …” and “… The usage log is generated based on a group of setting values of print setting items in the print setting information that relate to (affect) the print cost …” [0029-0031 and 0036]);
and communicates with the printing cost calculation apparatus (“A cost management apparatus [i.e., printing cost calculation apparatus] 10 is one or more computers connected with the print device [i.e., terminal apparatus] 50 via a network such as a LAN or the Internet.” [0031])
the terminal apparatus comprising: a hardware processor that transmits, to the printing cost calculation apparatus, calculation information that is necessary for calculating a printing cost and includes information unique to the printer (“Next, the log transmission part [of the terminal apparatus] 55 transmits the generated log data [i.e., calculation information] to the log collection part [of the printing cost calculation apparatus] 12 (Step S160). The log data includes the usage log [i.e., information unique to the image forming apparatus] at least. If the content log is generated, the log data also includes the content log.” [0057])
As to claim 22, Kashida in view of Kurtz in further view of Katoh and in further view of Bomze teaches all of the limitations of claim 19 as discussed above. Kashida further teaches, a non-transitory computer readable recording medium storing instructions for causing a computer of a terminal apparatus that instructs a printer to perform printing based on a preset print setting and communicates with the printing cost calculation apparatus that calculates a printing cost of the printer, to execute: (“A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having a program stored therein for causing the cost management system to execute the cost management method …” and “… The print device 50 is, for example, a printer, a combined machine, a copy machine, or the like …” and “… The usage log is generated based on a group of setting values of print setting items in the print setting information that relate to (affect) the print cost …” [claim 8 and 0029-0031 and 0036])
transmitting, to the printing cost calculation apparatus, calculation information that is necessary for calculating the printing cost and includes information unique to the printer (“Next, the log transmission part [of the terminal apparatus] 55 transmits the generated log data [i.e., calculation information] to the log collection part [of the printing cost calculation apparatus] 12 (Step S160). The log data includes the usage log [i.e., information unique to the image forming apparatus] at least. If the content log is generated, the log data also includes the content log.” [0057]).
Claims 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014/0258058 to Kashida (Kashida) in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2004/0122751 to Kurtz et al. (Kurtz) in further view of U.S. Patent Publication No. U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0159768 to Katoh et al. (Katoh) and in further view of U.S. Patent Publication No. U.S. Patent Publication No. 2016/0035042 to Bomze et al. (Bomze), as applied to claim 1 above, and in further view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2021/0042072 to Nagano et al. (Nagano).
As to claim 15, Kashida in view of Kurtz in further view of Katoh and in further view of Bomze teaches all of the limitations of claim 1 as discussed above. Kashida in view of Kurtz in further view of Katoh and in further view of Bomze does not teach, wherein in a case that the terminal apparatus transmits calculation information before printing and calculation information after the printing, the hardware processor of the printing cost calculation apparatus: calculates the printing cost upon each reception of calculation information before and after the printing, and when determining that the printing cost before the printing and the printing cost after the printing are not identical, updates the printing cost calculated based on the calculation information before the printing to the printing cost calculated based on the calculation information after the printing. However, Nagano teaches, wherein in a case that the terminal apparatus transmits calculation information before printing and calculation information after the printing, the hardware processor of the printing cost calculation apparatus: calculates the printing cost upon each reception of calculation information before and after the printing (“Printing device [i.e., terminal apparatus] 1006 may determine how much the print job for document 1012 should cost. It may send this amount [i.e., calculation information] along with request 1022 to public print server [i.e., cost calculation apparatus] 1004 … After printing operations are complete, printing device 1006 may generate statistics [i.e., calculation information] 1026 which includes the actual cost to print the document. Statistics 1026 also may include the number of pages printed, user information, time of printing, and the like. This information is sent to public print server 1004 …” [0126-0128]),
and when determining that the printing cost before the printing and the printing cost after the printing are not identical, updates the printing cost calculated based on the calculation information before the printing to the printing cost calculated based on the calculation information after the printing (“… Public print server 1004 updates organization table 1014 accordingly [i.e., updates the printing cost] and calculates the new remaining credit value as well as creates an entry for the print job.” [0126-0128]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filling date of the invention to include, wherein in a case that the terminal apparatus transmits calculation information before printing and calculation information after the printing, the hardware processor of the printing cost calculation apparatus: calculates the printing cost upon each reception of calculation information before and after the printing, and when determining that the printing cost before the printing and the printing cost after the printing are not identical, updates the printing cost calculated based on the calculation information before the printing to the printing cost calculated based on the calculation information after the printing, as taught by Nagano with the print cost calculation system of Kashida in view of Kurtz in further view of Katoh and in further view of Bomze. One having ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to do so for the benefit of being able to confirm printer costs leading to greater accuracy.
As to claim 16, Kashida in view of Kurtz in further view of Katoh in further view of Bomze and in further view of Nagano teaches all of the limitations of claim 15 as discussed above. Kashida further teaches, wherein the hardware processor of the printing cost calculation apparatus: determines whether the printing cost is not a charging target after reception of the calculation information after the printing (“FIG. 10 is a schematic view illustrating an example of a content log. As illustrated in FIG. 10, the content log includes a job ID and image data of a printed image [i.e., calculation information after the printing] … Next, the charge type selection part 131 selects a charge type [determines whether the printing cost is not a charging target] that is to be applied to the printing related to the obtained usage log (called the "target usage log", hereafter) (Step S203) …” [0056-0061]),
and when determining that the printing cost is not a charging target, clears the calculated printing cost (“If a corresponding official use charge destination is not set (Step S402 NO) [i.e., the printing cost is not a charging target], the billing destination determination part 141 determines the private use charge destination set in the charge destination information storage part 133 as the charge destination for the target user name [i.e., clears the calculated printing cost] (Step S404). Also, if the printing relating to the target usage log is private purpose printing, namely, if there is no corresponding content log (Step S401 NO), the billing destination determination part 141 determines the private use charge destination set in the charge destination information storage part 133 for the target user name as the charge destination (Step S404).” [0076]).
(Examiner’s Note: under the broadest reasonable interpretation and per Applicant’s specification [0115] “clears the calculated printing cost” is interpreted to mean that the printing cost is not charged to the business.)
As to claim 17, Kashida in view of Kurtz in further view of Katoh in further view of Bomze and in further view of Nagano teaches all of the limitations of claim 16 as discussed above. Kashida further teaches, wherein the hardware processor of the printing cost calculation apparatus determines whether the printing cost is not a charging target using a comparison result between image data before the printing and image data after the printing (“Next, Step S205 in FIG. 11 will be described in detail. FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure for determining a charge destination [i.e., whether the printing cost is not a charging target] … Note that, by transferring a content log [i.e., data before the printing] for official purpose printing with which the content that has been output by the print device [i.e., data after the printing] 50 can be confirmed [i.e., compared]], a worker may feel psychological pressure if the worker attempts to print a private-purpose material as an official-purpose material. Namely, the companies can prevent their workers from making fraudulent usage as an environment is provided where output content can be confirmed anytime with the content log” and “The content log may include output (projected) image data, or may include a file or a file name for storing the projected image data.” [0074-0078 and 0088]).
Claim 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014/0258058 to Kashida (Kashida) in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2004/0122751 to Kurtz et al. (Kurtz) and in further view of U.S. Patent Publication No. U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0159768 to Katoh et al. (Katoh) and in further view of U.S. Patent Publication No. U.S. Patent Publication No. 2016/0035042 to Bomze et al. (Bomze), as applied to claim 19 above, and in further view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2019/0079708 to Yamada et al. (Yamada).
As to claim 21, Kashida in view of Kurtz in further view of Katoh and in further view of Bomze teaches all of the limitations of claim 19 as discussed above. Kashida further teaches, a non-transitory computer readable recording medium storing instructions for causing a computer of the printing cost calculation apparatus communicating with a terminal apparatus and a printer that receives instructions from the terminal apparatus to perform printing based on a preset print setting, to execute (“A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having a program stored therein for causing the cost management system to execute the cost management method …” and “… The print device 50 is, for example, a printer, a combined machine, a copy machine, or the like …” and “… The usage log is generated based on a group of setting values of print setting items in the print setting information that relate to (affect) the print cost …” [claim 8 and 0029-0031 and 0036]):
receiving, from the terminal apparatus, calculation information that is necessary for calculating a printing cost and includes information unique to the printer (“Next, the log transmission part [of the terminal apparatus] 55 transmits the generated log data [i.e., calculation information] to the log collection part [of the printing cost calculation apparatus] 12 (Step S160). The log data includes the usage log [i.e., information unique to the image forming apparatus] at least. If the content log is generated, the log data also includes the content log.” [0057]);
calculating the printing cost based on the calculation information (“The cost calculation part [of the printing cost calculation apparatus] 13 calculates a cost (charge) of an executed print job based on the log data [i.e., calculation information transmitted from the terminal apparatus] …” [0032]);
outputting a calculation result of the printing cost to the terminal apparatus (“… The billing part [of the printing cost calculation apparatus] 14 determines a billing destination of the cost calculated by the cost calculation part 13, and transmits [i.e., outputs] information that indicates a billing amount of the cost [i.e., calculation result] and the like (called "billing information", hereafter) to the billing destination …” [0032]);
causing the terminal apparatus to instruct the printer image forming apparatus to perform the printing based on the determination result (“… As an example of inputting the account information via the operation panel of the print device 50, there is a case where the print device 50 preserves print data until the authentication succeeds, and upon the success of the authentication, executes a print job for the print data” and “… If the response indicates success of the authentication (Step S110 YES), the print control part 52 has the print device 50 execute a print job based on the received print data (Step S120) …” [0035 and 0051-0052]).
Kashida does not teach, outputting a determination result of the payment to the terminal apparatus. However, Kurtz teaches, outputting a determination result of the payment to the terminal apparatus (“… If it is determined that the user lacks authorization, the off-site reimbursement manager 318, 418 may identify this condition to the off-site reimbursement manager 318, 418 that, in turn, notifies the user that he or she is unauthorized, as indicated in block 610 …” [0038]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filling date of the invention to include, outputting a determination result of the payment to the terminal apparatus, as taught by Kurtz with the print cost calculation system of Kashida. Motivation to do so comes from the teachings of Kurtz that doing so would encourage employees to work at home or at other off-site locations to increase employee output [0004].
Kashida in view of Kurtz in further view of Katoh and in further view of Bomze does not teach, wherein the apparatus-specific information includes product information on the printer; acquiring unit price information of consumables from the product information; calculating the printing cost based on the unit price information. However, Yamada teaches, wherein the apparatus-specific information includes product information on the printer (“… The printer information 229 includes information about the type of ink, the type of a print medium, and the like usable by the printer in association with the model [i.e., product information] of the printer …” [0072]);
acquiring unit price information of consumables from the product information (“The unit price information 221 includes a unit price of ink or a print medium …” and “In the control unit 210, the communication control unit 211 receives the print job information (step SA11), and the acquisition unit 213 acquires the received print job information and temporarily stores the print job information (step SA12) …” [0072 and 0129-0130])
calculating the printing cost based on the unit price information (“… The calculation unit 215 calculates the total cost obtained by adding the ink cost, the medium cost, and other costs” [0130]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filling date of the invention to include, wherein the apparatus-specific information includes product information on the printer; acquiring unit price information of consumables from the product information; calculating the printing cost based on the unit price information, as taught by Yamada with the print cost calculation system of Kashida in view of Kurtz in further view of Katoh and in further view of Bomze. Motivation to do so comes from the teachings of Yamada that doing so would support work or processing for estimating the profit by providing useful information [0024].
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.
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/S.S.W./Examiner, Art Unit 3628
/RUPANGINI SINGH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3628