Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/370,499

Method for Producing a Coated Body as Well as Coated Body Obtainable According to the Method

Final Rejection §112
Filed
Sep 20, 2023
Priority
Sep 21, 2022 — DE 102022124181.5
Examiner
WILENSKY, MOSHE K
Art Unit
3726
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Kennametal Inc.
OA Round
2 (Final)
75%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
91%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 75% — above average
75%
Career Allowance Rate
563 granted / 749 resolved
+5.2% vs TC avg
Strong +16% interview lift
Without
With
+15.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
25 currently pending
Career history
772
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.1%
-38.9% vs TC avg
§103
47.2%
+7.2% vs TC avg
§102
22.5%
-17.5% vs TC avg
§112
27.5%
-12.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 749 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
DETAILED ACTION1 REJECTIONS UNDER 35 USC 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112: (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 26 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112 (b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which applicant regards as the invention. Claim 26 recites the coated body according to claim 1…obtained by means of a method according to claim 1. This claim is indefinite for several reasons. One, claim 1 does not recite a coated body. Thus, the preamble is incorrect. Examiner presumes that claim 26 is intended to depend from claim 10. Two, method claim 1 is withdrawn and will not be rejoined. As such, claim 26 cannot refer back to it. Claim 26 must be amended to recite the method steps themselves. ALLOWABLE SUBJECT MATTER Claims 10, 13-14, & 17-25 are allowed. Applicant’s arguments regarding these claims are persuasive. 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 date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication should be directed to Moshe Wilensky whose telephone number is 571-270-3257. Mr. Wilensky’s supervisor, Sunil Singh can be reached at 571-272-3460. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Examiner interviews are available via telephone or video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. Applicant may also use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. 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. 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. /MOSHE WILENSKY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3726 1 The following conventions are used in this office action. All direct claim quotations are presented in italics. All non-italic reference numerals presented with italicized claim language are from the cited prior art reference. All citations to “specification” are to the applicant’s published specification unless otherwise indicated. The use of the phrase “et al.” following a reference is used solely to refer to subsequent modifying references, and not to other listed inventors of the cited reference.
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 20, 2023
Application Filed
May 18, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
Aug 18, 2026
Response Filed
Sep 10, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
75%
Grant Probability
91%
With Interview (+15.9%)
2y 10m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 749 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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