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 .
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
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Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No. 11,411,383. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because both sets of claims are directed toward leakage current protection circuits having pull-down generation circuits and detection time interval design considerations, with differences between the two claim groups being only minor variations in recited scope and/or variations in the distribution of features between the independent and dependent claims that are not seen to involve an inventive step when the abilities of persons of ordinary skill are taken into full consideration.
Instant claim 1 recites: A leakage protection circuit for a lighting system, comprising: a) a pull-down current generation circuit configured to generate a pull-down current flowing from a DC bus to a reference voltage; and b) a control circuit configured to control the pull-down current generation circuit to generate a varied pull-down current during an operating interval, and to determine whether leakage occurs in accordance with a change state of a detection voltage signal representative of a voltage on the DC bus in a detection time interval, wherein the detection time interval is within the operating interval.
Claim 1 of the patent recites: A leakage protection circuit, comprising: a) a pull-down current generation circuit coupled between output terminals of a rectifier circuit; and b) a control circuit configured to control the pull-down current generation circuit to generate a pull-down current during a predetermined time interval, and to determine whether leakage occurs in accordance with a voltage detection signal that is representative of an output voltage of the rectifier circuit.
The main difference between the claim group is related to the instant claim including a lighting system as the protected load, with considerations for a lighting system being a collection of well understood engineering principles that are within the abilities of persons of ordinary skill in the art.
The dependent claims in this application and the patent recite several comparable operating interval and time interval considerations that are not seen to involve any inventive step beyond the abilities of persons of ordinary skill and variations in the distribution of features amongst the dependent claims are not observed to form any allowable claims.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEPHEN W JACKSON whose telephone number is (571)272-2051. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 6:30-3:00.
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SWJackson
December 16, 2025
/STEPHEN W JACKSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838