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
Claims 1-6 and 14-17 are allowable. The restriction requirement between Groups I and II, as set forth in the Office action mailed on 01/14/2026, has been reconsidered in view of the allowability of claims to the elected invention pursuant to MPEP § 821.04(a). The restriction requirement is maintained because the nonelected claims do not require all the limitations of an allowable claim.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 06/10/2026 was filed after the mailing date of the non-final rejection on 05/07/2026. The submission complies with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Status of Claims
Claims 1-6 are currently amended, Claims 7-10 are withdrawn, Claims 11-13 are canceled, and Claims 14-17 are new.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-6 and 14-17 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: regarding the rejection of the claims over prior art and the provisional double patenting rejection, the amendment filed 08/05/2026 incorporated the allowable subject matter indicated in the office action mailed 05/07/2026 into Claim 1.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 08/05/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive regarding the rejoinder of Claims 7-10. Claim 7 is not drawn to a method of making or using the R-T-B magnet of Claim 1. Claim 7 recites preparing a R-T-B magnet with the respective components for the R-T-B magnet according to Claim 1. Those components are recited as ≥ 22 wt% Nd, 0.2-0.75 wt% of Ti+Nb, 0.05-0.45 wt% of Cu, 0.955-1.15 wt% of B, and 58-69 wt% of Fe with the mass ratio of Ti to Nb is (1-5):1. The limitation of the TxNb1 phase is not identified as one of the components.
The examiner notes that Claims 8 and 9 contain several instances of potential rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) with the use of “such as,” “for example,” and “preferably” and lack of sufficient antecedent basis.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Tima M. McGuthry-Banks whose telephone number is (571)272-2744. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday, 7:00 am to 3:00 pm.
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, Keith D. Hendricks can be reached at (571) 272-1401. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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Tima M. McGuthry-Banks
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1733
/Tima M. McGuthry-Banks/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1733
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