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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-7, in the reply filed on 5/13/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 8-10 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to nonelected inventions, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 5/13/2026.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
At [0017], [0019] and [0023], these inequalities should be unitless as a percentage divided by a percentage would result in a unitless ratio and not a percentage.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 3 and 5 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claims 3 and 5, these inequalities should be unitless as a percentage divided by a percentage would result in a unitless ratio and not a percentage. The objection can be overcome by deleting the “%” symbol where it appears in both claims (four instances).
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
Claims 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Apel et al. (US 7,452,836).
With regard to claims 1-7, Apel et al. disclose at least the example 2 in Table 1, which clearly anticipates the composition of claims 1-6 (col. 9, lines 1-30). The composition is a lithium metasilicate as the main crystalline phase that has the lithium metasilicate phase as more than 50 to 80 vol. % of the lithium silicate glass ceramic, which reads claim 7 (col. 3, lines 21-24 and col. 4, lines 33-36).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The references cited in the EPO Office action are considered cumulative to the present rejection.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GERARD T HIGGINS whose telephone number is (571)270-3467. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30-6pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mark Ruthkosky can be reached at (571) 272-1291. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Gerard Higgins/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1785
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