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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on April 7, 2026 has been entered.
As directed by the amendment, claims 1 and 14 have been amended and claim 3 has been cancelled. Claims 11-13 and 16-20 were previously withdrawn. As such, claims 1-2, 4-10, 14-15 remain under consideration in the instant application.
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 4-10, 14-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Koay et al. (US 2018/0256221), hereinafter “Koay”, in view of Lorenz et al. (US 2010/0234896), hereinafter "Lorenz".
Regarding claim 1, Koay discloses a periprosthetic plate (100), comprising: a proximal segment (102 with 136) having a top portion (120) and an end portion (108) with at least two curved hooks (106) that are capable of passing through a patient's abductor muscles and rest medially on a tip of a patient's greater trochanter (GT) (¶12, 14), wherein the proximal segment includes a plurality of recessed bone screw holes (110, 114, 116, 118) for attachment to a patient's femur with bone screws, and wherein each of the two curved hooks has a distal end that tapers to a point (FIG. 3), and wherein the plurality of recessed bone screw holes are polyaxial (¶16). However, Koay is silent regarding wherein the plurality of recessed bone screw holes are beveled so that any inserted bone screws do not extend above the top portion of the proximal segment. Lorenz discloses a periprosthetic plate (120, FIGS. 14-19) comprising a proximal segment with at least two curved hooks (121, 122), wherein the proximal segment includes a plurality of recessed bone screw holes wherein the plurality of recessed bone screw holes are beveled (¶40) so that any inserted bone screws do not extend above the top portion of the proximal segment. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to combine beveled bone screw holes with the bone screw holes of Koay, so that bone screws do not extend above the top portion of the plate. In this case, one would utilize beveled bone screw holes in the plate of Koay.
Regarding claim 2, Koay as modified by Lorenz teach the periprosthetic plate according to Claim 1, and Koay further discloses wherein the proximal segment includes a hook portion (102) having the at least two curved hooks and an attachment portion (136).
Regarding claim 4, Koay as modified by Lorenz teach the periprosthetic plate according to Claim 1, and Koay further discloses wherein the plurality of recessed bone screw holes are in sets of two recessed bone screw holes that are parallel to each other (FIG. 1).
Regarding claim 5, Koay as modified by Lorenz teach the periprosthetic plate according to Claim 4, and Koay further discloses wherein the plurality of recessed bone screw holes are in two sets of at least two recessed bone screw holes that are parallel to each other (FIG. 1).
Regarding claim 6, Koay as modified by Lorenz teach the periprosthetic plate according to Claim 1, and Koay further discloses a distal segment or shaft (138) that is attached to or is integral with the proximal segment (FIG. 2).
Regarding claim 7, Koay as modified by Lorenz teach the periprosthetic plate according to Claim 6, and Koay further discloses wherein the proximal segment includes a hook segment (102) attached to the at least two curved hooks and an attachment segment (136).
Regarding claim 8, Koay as modified by Lorenz teach the periprosthetic plate according to Claim 7, and Koay further discloses wherein the hook segment includes a first plurality of recessed bone screw holes (110), the attachment segment includes a second plurality of recessed bone screw holes (114, 116, 118), and the distal segment or shaft includes a third plurality of recessed bone screw holes (142).
Regarding claim 9, Koay as modified by Lorenz teach the periprosthetic plate according to Claim 8, and Koay further discloses wherein the first plurality of recessed bone screw holes are in sets of two and parallel to each other (FIG. 2), the second plurality of recessed bone screw holes are in sets of two and parallel to each other (FIG. 2) and the third plurality of recessed bone screw holes are staggered from side-to-side along the longitudinal length of the distal segment or shaft (FIG. 2).
Regarding claim 10, Koay as modified by Lorenz teach the periprosthetic plate according to Claim 9, and Lorenz further discloses wherein the first plurality of recessed bone screw holes, the second plurality of recessed bone screw holes, and the third plurality of recessed bone screw holes are beveled so that any inserted bone screws do not extend above the top portion of the proximal segment.
Regarding claims 14-15, Koay discloses a periprosthetic plate (100), comprising: a hook segment (102) having a top portion (120) and an end portion (108) with at least two curved hooks (106), each curved hook tapering to a point (FIG. 3), the at least two curved hooks are capable of passing through a patient's abductor muscles and rest medially on a tip of a patient's greater trochanter (GT) (¶12), wherein the hook segment includes a first plurality of recessed bone screw holes (110) that are in sets of two recessed bone screw holes that are parallel to each other (FIG. 2); and an attachment segment (136) that is attached or integral to the hook segment and includes a second plurality of polyaxial (¶16) recessed bone screw holes (114, 116, 118) that are in sets of two and parallel to each other (FIG. 2) and are in sets of two recessed bone screw holes that are parallel to each other (FIG. 2), further comprising a distal segment or shaft (138) that is attached to or integral with the attachment segment and includes a third plurality of recessed bone screw holes (142) that are staggered from side-to-side along the length of the distal segment or shaft (FIG. 2). However, Koay is silent regarding the bone screw holes being beveled. Lorenz discloses a periprosthetic plate (120, FIGS. 14-19) comprising a proximal segment with at least two curved hooks (121, 122), wherein the proximal segment includes a plurality of recessed bone screw holes wherein the plurality of recessed bone screw holes are beveled (¶40) so that any inserted bone screws do not extend above the top portion of the proximal segment. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to combine beveled bone screw holes with the bone screw holes of Koay, so that bone screws do not extend above the top portion of the plate. In this case, one would utilize beveled bone screw holes in the plate of Koay.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1 and 14 have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to the combination of references being used in the current rejection. Additionally, as the bone screws are not positively recited, low profile or otherwise properly configured bone screws could be selected such that they do not extend above the top portion of the proximal segment. The newly presented rejection was necessitated by the amendments to the claims of April 7, 2026.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OLIVIA C CHANG whose telephone number is (571) 270-5017. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 7:30AM-5:00PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, please contact the examiner’s supervisor, KEVIN TRUONG, at (571) 272-4705. 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 from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR 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.
/OLIVIA C CHANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3775
Prosecution Insights