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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on December 5, 2025, has been entered.
Response to Amendment
According to the amendment filed December 5, 2025, claim 1 has been amended. The non-statutory double patenting rejection set forth in the Office Action mailed September 18, 2025, has been withdrawn accordingly. Claims 1-20 are currently pending in this application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-8 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
Claims 1-8 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.
Claim 1, as amended in lines 6-9, recites the limitation “a second attachment member configured to be engaged with tissue by a tissue fastener, and extending laterally from and being slidably disposed on the traction band between the first end and the second end of the traction band to selectively adjust the variable length”. It is noted that claim 1 also recites, in lines 2-4, “a traction band extending along a longitudinal axis, having a first end and a second end, and stretchable to have a variable length between the first end and the second end” (emphasis added by Examiner). Thus, the claim seems to initially define “a variable length” (line 3)as a feature resulting from the stretchability of the traction band, this “variable length” measured between the first end and the second end of the traction band, and then recites “the variable length” (lines 6-9) as being selectively adjusted by a second attachment member extending laterally from and slidably disposed on the traction band between the first and second ends.
The specification in its entirety does not provide support for these limitations. That is, neither the specification nor the drawings of the present disclosure describe or illustrate a device where the variable length resulting from the stretchable traction band is adjusted using a second attachment member extending from and slidable along the traction band.
Paragraph 0045 of the specification states that “[the] traction band 200 may stretch when the device is in tension” which provides support for the limitation of claim 1, in lines 2-4, of “a traction band […] stretchable to have a variable length between the first end and the second end”. This variable length defined between the first and second ends is understood as the length of the entire traction band, between first and second ends and defined along the longitudinal axis of the traction band, as generally identified in the following Annotated Fig. 2B of the present application:
PNG
media_image1.png
567
577
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Examiner’s Annotated Fig. 2B of the Present Application
Regarding “the variable length” limitation in lines 6-9 of claim 1, where the second attachment member is slidably disposed on the traction band between first and second ends thereof to selectively adjust the variable length, Examiner notes that Figs. 2B-2E depict the second attachment member (202) slidingly along the traction band (200). This movement is described in para. 0045-0047 of the instant specification. This sliding movement does not appear to adjust the length defined between the first and second end (i.e., the variable length identified in Examiner’s Annotated Fig. 2B above), but rather adjusts a different length between the target tissue (240) and the anchoring tissue (244), as described in at least paragraph 0045. This particular length, identified in Examiner’s Annotated Figs. 2D and 2E below, is not defined between the first and second ends of the traction band, and is understood to be variable and selectively adjustable due to the selective placement of third attachment member (203) on the body (210).
PNG
media_image2.png
497
792
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Examiner’s Annotated Fig. 2D of Present Application
PNG
media_image3.png
455
756
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Examiner’s Annotated Fig. 2E of Present Application
Thus, the disclosure does not teach a device configuration where the second attachment member is slidably disposed on the traction band to selectively adjust a variable length of the traction band where the traction band is stretchable to have the variable length defined between first and second ends of the traction band, as required by amended claim 1. Claims 2-7 are rejected due to dependency on claim 1.
Claims 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1, as amended in lines 6-9, recites the limitation “a second attachment member configured to be engaged with tissue by a tissue fastener, and extending laterally from and being slidably disposed on the traction band between the first end and the second end of the traction band to selectively adjust the variable length”. Claim 1 also recites, in lines 2-4, “a traction band extending along a longitudinal axis, having a first end and a second end, and stretchable to have a variable length between the first end and the second end” (emphasis added by Examiner). It is unclear how the variable length resulting from the stretchability of the traction band is selectively adjusted using the second attachment member as claimed. See Examiner’s description of these limitations above, with regard to the rejection of claim 1 under 35 U.S.C. 112(a), for further information as to the lack of clarity provided by the specification. Claims 2-7 are rejected due to dependency on claim 1.
Notice to Applicant Regarding Prior Art
Claims 1-8 have not been rejected using prior art because prior art could not be found teaching “a traction band extending along a longitudinal axis, having a first end and a second end, and stretchable to have a variable length between the first end and the second end” and “a second attachment member configured to be engaged with tissue by a tissue fastener, and extending laterally from and being slidably disposed on the traction band between the first end and the second end of the traction band to selectively adjust the variable length”. Examiner notes that removal of that limitation may result in the claims being rejected using prior art.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9-20 are allowed. Examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance can be seen in the Office Action mailed May 8, 2025.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANNA VICTORIA LITTLE whose telephone number is (571)272-6630. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9a-6p EST.
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, Eduardo Robert can be reached at (571)272-4719. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ANNA V. LITTLE/Examiner, Art Unit 3773 /EDUARDO C ROBERT/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3773