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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 2-5, filed 11/26/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 12-17 under 35 U.S.C. 102 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Schipper et al (DE 102024132567 A1) and Fernandez et al (EP 4465022 A1).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 12-15, 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Schipper et al (DE 102024132567 A1).
Regarding claim 12, Schipper et al discloses a calibration material for calibrating a spectral responsivity of at least one Raman spectrometer, the calibration material comprising: a reference material (SRMs) (7) configured to emit a broadband spectrum of luminescence light (1a)(1b) in response to the reference material receiving excitation light having a desired excitation wavelength; and an additional material (SRMs) exhibiting a distinct Raman band within a spectral measurement range of the at least one Raman spectrometer to be calibrated (See Figs. 1, 3 and page 6).
Regarding claim 13, Schipper et al discloses wherein the reference material is a standard reference material (SRM) (page 6) or a fluorescent glass (page 11).
Regarding claim 14, Schipper et al discloses wherein the additional material is carbon, diamond, sapphire, silicon, CaF2, or LiNbO3) (i.e. luminescent material that emits luminescent light when the luminescent material receives the excitation light. The luminescent material is a fluorescent material, a fluorescent glass, or another type of luminescent material) (page 4).
Regarding claim 15, Schipper et al discloses wherein the additional material is a material exhibiting a single Raman band within the spectral measurement range of the at least one Raman spectrometer (page 2).
Regarding claim 17, Schipper et al discloses wherein the additional material is distributed in the reference material; or at least one layer of the additional material, the at least one layer covering covers an exterior surface of the reference material (page 6).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claim(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schipper et al (DE 102024132567 A1) in view of Fernandez et al (EP 4465022 A1).
Regarding claim 16, Schipper et al discloses all of the limitations of parent claim 12, as described supra however, Schipper et al are silent with regards to the given percentage is 1%. Fernandez et al discloses a calibrating material for calibrating a spectral responsivity of at least one Raman spectrometer (See Abstract) comprising a reference material (SRM) (See Fig. 13, pages 9, 23) configured to emit a broadband spectrum of luminescent light in response to reference material receiving excitation light having a desired excitation wavelength; an additional material (diamond) exhibiting a distance Raman band within at least a spectral measurement range of the at least one Raman spectrometer to be calibrated (See Figs. 13(a)(b); a Raman band exhibiting a Raman peak having a full width at half maximum smaller or equal to a given percentage of a width of the spectral measurement range wherein the given percentage is 1% (See Example 3, page 21). Thus, it would have been obvious to modify Schipper et al with the teaching of Fernandez et al so as to enable spectral correction by Raman spectrometer.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-11 were indicated as allowable in the previous Office Action dated 8/27/2025.
Conclusion
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/F.P.B./Examiner, Art Unit 2884
/UZMA ALAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2884