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 .
Priority
This application repeats a substantial portion of prior Application No. 17/305,289, filed July 2, 2021, and adds disclosure not presented in the prior application. Because this application names the inventor or at least one joint inventor named in the prior application, it may constitute a continuation-in-part of the prior application. Should applicant desire to claim the benefit of the filing date of the prior application, attention is directed to 35 U.S.C. 120, 37 CFR 1.78, and MPEP § 211 et seq. The presentation of a benefit claim may result in an additional fee under 37 CFR 1.17(w)(1) or (2) being required, if the earliest filing date for which benefit is claimed under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) and 1.78(d) in the application is more than six years before the actual filing date of the application.
The Examiner notes that the limitations “includes chlorine at a concentration of 1-10 atomic percent” as in independent Claim 1 and dependent Claim 3 is not claimed or listed in the original Specification of the parent application 17/305,289. Thus, the Examiner determines this application is a possible CIP application and is given a filing date of December 27, 2023.
Specification
The specification is objected to as failing to provide proper antecedent basis for the claimed subject matter. See 37 CFR 1.75(d)(1) and MPEP § 608.01(o). Correction of the following is required: the limitation “includes chlorine at a concentration of 1-10 atomic percent” as in independent Claim 1 and dependent Claim 3, is not reflected in the instant Specification or Drawings of the instant Application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim 1, 3 and any of their dependent claims are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. The limitation “includes chlorine at a concentration of 1-10 atomic percent” in independent Claim 1 and dependent Claim 3 does not have clear or explicit support in the instant Specification or in parent application 17/305,289.
Allowable Subject Matter
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: after conducting thorough searching and consideration, the Examiner indicates that the required combination of the limitation "an oxidized polyamide active layer having an atomic oxygen/nitrogen ratio of at least 1.5:1" with the limitation "includes chlorine at a concentration of 1-10 atomic percent”" in the field of "a serial filtration system" for independent Claim 1 is not found in the closest prior art such as Abusharkh, (US 9,206,060), Hamada et al., (“Hamada”, US 2020/0188861), and Cadotte, (US 4,277,344). However, the issues indicated above in the 112 rejection section must be resolved.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JONATHAN M PEO whose telephone number is (571)272-9891. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 9AM-5PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Bobby Ramdhanie can be reached at 571-270-3240. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JONATHAN M PEO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1779
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