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 .
Reissue Applications
For reissue applications filed on or after September 16, 2012, all references to 35
U.S.C. 251 and 37 CFR 1.172, 1.175, and 3.73 are to the current provisions.
Claim Status
Original patent claims 1-20 are pending.
Reissue Declaration
The reissue oath/declaration filed with this application is defective (see 37 CFR
1.175 and MPEP § 1414) because of the following:
The error statement in the declaration filed 5 December 2025 states that “[i]t has come to our attention that one of the previously filed inventor declarations was improperly signed. It is believed the original patent is wholly or partly inoperative or invalid by reason of claiming more or less than the patentee had the right to claim in the patent, since one of the previously filed inventor declarations was improperly signed. In addition to filing new inventor declarations by way of this form, Applicant is also pursuing a broadening reissue to broaden claims including independent claims 1 and 18. In particular, the amendments to claims 1 and 18 seek to broaden scope of the catalyst and scope of the liquid cooling loop.”
Regarding the issue with the previously filed inventor declarations1, this is not an error upon which reissue can be based. See MPEP 1402. As to the amendments to claims 1 and 18, seeking to broaden the claims, it is noted that all claims have been amended to revert back to the original claimed subject matter. Therefore, there is no broadening and no error.
Claims 1-20 are rejected as being based upon a defective reissue
declaration under 35 U.S.C. 251 as set forth above. See 37 CFR 1.175.
The nature of the defect(s) in the declaration is set forth in the discussion above
in this Office action.
Amendments
The amendment filed 5 December 2025 proposes amendments to the claims that do not comply with 37 CFR 1.173(b), which sets forth the manner of making amendments in reissue applications.
All amendments in reissue are made vis-à-vis the patent to be reissued. Where the original claim language is being added back to a claim, it is not underlined because it is not new with respect to the patent to be reissued. Nor is it necessary to show previous bracketing of the same term. For claims that have been reverted back to the original form, it is proper to list them in their original, non-marked up form with the status identifier “Original.” See MPEP 1453 IV and V.E.
Related Proceedings
Applicant is reminded of the continuing obligation under 37 CFR 1.178(b), to
timely apprise the Office of any prior or concurrent proceeding in which Patent No.
11,643,376 is or was involved. These proceedings would include any trial before the
Patent Trial and Appeal Board, interferences, reissues, reexaminations, supplemental
examinations, and litigation.
Applicant is further reminded of the continuing obligation under 37 CFR 1.56, to
timely apprise the Office of any information which is material to patentability of the
claims under consideration in this reissue application. These obligations rest with each
individual associated with the filing and prosecution of this application for reissue. See
also MPEP §§ 1404, 1442.01 and 1442.04.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 10-14, filed 5 December 2025, with respect to the rejection over Snell in view of Stephenson have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of claims 1-9, 11-16, 18, and 19 has been withdrawn.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
Communication
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the
examiner should be directed to ELIZABETH L MCKANE whose telephone number is 5.
The examiner can normally be reached on 6:30am-4:30pm (ET) Mon-Thurs.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s
supervisor Patricia Engle can be reached on 571-272-6660. The fax phone number for
the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained at
https://patentcenter.uspto.gov/. Should you have questions on access to the Patent
Center system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-
free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or
access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA)
or 571-272-1000.
/ELIZABETH L MCKANE/Specialist, Art Unit 3991
Conferees:
/LEONARDO ANDUJAR/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3991
/Patricia L Engle/ SPRS, Art Unit 3991
1 This alleged error was also referenced in the Declaration filed 22 January 2024. Thus, it must be assumed that the “previously filed inventor declarations” are those filed in the original patent.