CTNF 18/555,426 CTNF 85046 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. 07-12-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim s 14-21 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1) and 102 (a)(2 ) as being anticipated by Pressacco et al. (2010/0191345) “Pressacco” . Regarding claim 14 Pressacco discloses a cotyle 10 for a hip prosthesis (Fig. 3 and par. 0049), which comprises a cotyle body (body of element 10; Fig. 3) provided with a plurality of holes 17 (Fig. 3) for the passage of fixing screws (par. 0063-0064 disclose constraint holes for insertion of pin or screw), said holes being connected to each other by a plurality of ribs which define a grid (mesh elements 113a-113i are located between and connect each constraint hole 17 and form a lattice or grid; par. 0065 and Figs. 3-4). Regarding claim 15, Pressacco discloses wherein said holes 17 are surrounded by reinforcement rings 19 (par. 0064; Fig. 3). Regaring claim 16, Pressacco discloses a base region 16a which is provided solid and is frustum-shaped internally (as shown in Fig. 1; the cup element 10 has a flat top and a open base 16a). Regarding claim 17, Pressacco discloses wherein said ribs connect said reinforcement rings to each other (the lattice mesh 13 with rib elements 113a-113i is located between and connecting reinforcement rings 19; Fig. 3 and par. 0065). Regarding claims 18-19, Pressacco discloses further comprising a polar central hole (Fig. 2) further comprising a reinforcement ring arranged around said polar central hole (Fig. 2 discloses a constraint hole 17 located at the top pole with reinforcement ring 19). Regarding claim 20, Pressacco discloses wherein said base region 16a is covered externally by a porous mesh 12 (par. 0058 and Figs. 1b). Regarding claim 21, Pressacco discloses a full-thickness porous mesh 12 in areas of a surface of the body without ribs or reinforcement rings of the holes (the mesh 12 is located in all areas of the surface of the body 10 included areas that are not located in between and connecting the constraint holes 17; Fig. 2). Regarding claim 26, the claimed phrase “provided with EBM or SLM techniques” is being treated as a product-by-process limitation and a product-by-process claim is not limited to the manipulations of the recited steps, only the structure implied by the steps. Even though product-by-process claims are limited by and defined by the process, determination of patentability is based on the product itself. The patentability of a product does not depend on its method of production. MPEP 2113 . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bacon (2005/0171614) in view of Pressacco et al. (2010/0191345) “Pressacco . Bacon discloses a cotyle 46 for a hip prosthesis (Fig. 1 and par. 0035), which comprises a cotyle body (body of element 46; Fig. 1) provided with a plurality of holes 35 (Fig. 1), said holes being connected to each other by a plurality of ribs 32 (Fig. 1 and par. 0035) which define a grid (par. 0035 and Fig. 3 disclose ribs 32 and 33 create a grid with slots 30). Bacon fails to disclose plurality of holes for the passage of fixing screws. However, Pressaco teaches a similar hip prosthesis comprising a plurality of holes 17 (Fig. 3) for the passage of fixing screws (par. 0063-0064 disclose constraint holes for insertion of pin or screw). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the hip prosthesis in Bacon to include plurality of holes for the passage of fixing screws, as taught and suggested by Pressacco, for securely attaching the hip prosthesis at the implantation site 07-21-aia AIA Claim 22 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pressacco et al. (2010/0191345) “Pressacco” in view of Dunn et al. (2017/0143495) “Dunn” . Pressacco discloses the claimed invention of claim 14 except for wherein there are pointed regions on the surface of said porous mesh that covers said base region, of said mesh, of said ribs and reinforcement rings. However, Dunn teaches a similar hip prosthesis 100 (abstract and Fig. 2) comprising pointed regions on the surface of said porous mesh that covers the whole area of hip prosthesis 100 (pars. 0201-0202 discloses a roughened surface texture located on the hip prosthesis). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the hip prosthesis in Pressacco to include pointed regions on the surface of said porous mesh that covers said base region, of said mesh, of said ribs and reinforcement rings, as taught and suggested by Dunn, for enhancing integration of the prosthesis with the soft tissue at the implantation site (par. 0202 of Dunn) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim 23 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pressacco et al. (2010/0191345) “Pressacco” . Pressacco discloses the claimed invention of claim 14 including wherein said base region 16a has a height (Fig. 1 disclose the base region having a certain height); except for the a height comprised between 12 and 14 mm. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the height to comprise between 12 and 14 mm, since these are result effective variables that contribute to the anatomical dimensions of the prosthesis, it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art and modifying th he height to comprise between 12 and 14 mm, would allow for the prosthesis to better fit the implantation site. MPEP 2144.05. Furthermore, since applicants have not disclosed that these modifications solve any stated problem or are for any particular purpose and it appears that the device would perform equally well with either designs, these modifications are a matter of design choice. Absent a teaching as to criticality, this particular arrangement is deemed to have been known by those skilled in the art since the instant specification and evidence of record fail to attribute any significance (novel or unexpected results) to a particular arrangement. MPEP 2144.05 . 07-21-aia AIA Claim 24 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pressacco et al. (2010/0191345) “Pressacco” in view of Baege et al. (5965006) “Baege” . Pressacco discloses the claimed invention of claim 14; except for wherein said holes are arranged in a configuration according to a spiral. However, Baege teaches a similar prosthesis 100 (abstract) comprising holes are arranged in a configuration according to a spiral (col. 2, lin. 25-30 discloses cavities arranged in a spiral configuration). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the prosthesis in Pressacco to include wherein said holes are arranged in a configuration according to a spiral, as taught and suggested by Baege, for enhancing buildup of blood vessels during bone tissue ingrowth (col. 2, lin. 30-36 of Baege) . Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim 25 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. 13-03-01 AIA The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the subject matter is allowable due to the limitations of “said porous mesh that covers said base region is thinner than said full-thickness porous mesh that covers the areas of the surface of the body without ribs or reinforcement rings of the holes” as set forth in claim 25, which has not been found anticipated by or obvious over prior art. The closest prior art of record of Pressacco et al. and Bacon fail to disclose said porous mesh that covers said base region is thinner than said full-thickness porous mesh that covers the areas of the surface of the body without ribs or reinforcement rings of the holes . Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YASHITA SHARMA whose telephone number is (571)270-5417. The examiner can normally be reached on 8am-5pm M-Th; 8am-4pm Fri (MT). If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner' s supervisor, Jerrah Edwards, can be reached at 408-918-7557. 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 Patent Center. Status information for published applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Patent Center to authorized users only. Should you have questions about access to the USPTO patent electronic filing system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). /YASHITA SHARMA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3774 Application/Control Number: 18/555,426 Page 2 Art Unit: 3774 Application/Control Number: 18/555,426 Page 3 Art Unit: 3774 Application/Control Number: 18/555,426 Page 4 Art Unit: 3774 Application/Control Number: 18/555,426 Page 5 Art Unit: 3774 Application/Control Number: 18/555,426 Page 6 Art Unit: 3774 Application/Control Number: 18/555,426 Page 7 Art Unit: 3774 Application/Control Number: 18/555,426 Page 8 Art Unit: 3774