Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Election/Restrictions
Claim 42 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected fabric, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 9/10/2025.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 25-41 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 25 recites the limitation "the composition" in the next to last line of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 25 recites the limitation "the at least one water-soluble material" in the next to last line of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 25-41 would likely be considered allowable if the above cited 112 issues were resolved. As such reasons for allowance are provided below as to why the claim would otherwise be considered allowable.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: it is not known in the prior art to treat a hernia comprising rolling a prosthetic fabric to form a rolled prosthetic fabric, the prosthetic fabric including an arrangement of yarns that define at least first and second opposite faces for the fabric, the fabric comprising on at least the first face one or more barbs that protrude outwards relative to the first face, the fabric being covered, at least partly, on the second face with a layer made of a bioresorbable material, an outer surface of the layer being impenetrable by the barbs, wherein the barbs are covered with a coating made of a water-soluble material; conveying the rolled prosthetic fabric through a channel of a trocar to a site of implantation; unrolling of the rolled prosthetic fabric without the barbs becoming entangled with each other or the fabric and fastening the barbs to the implantation site after the composition including the at least one water-soluble material dissolves as in claim 25.
The most pertinent prior art (Spinnler et al. (USPGPub 2009/0192532) teaches that it is known to provide medical fabrics with barbs for the purposes of attaching the fabric to an area with the barbs. However, the prior art fails to teach coating the barbed surface of the fabric as claimed.
Conclusion
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/ANDREW J BOWMAN/ Examiner, Art Unit 1717