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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: in order to avoid ambiguity, the Examiner suggest to add the word: ---region--- in line 5 between the words: “each” and “comprising”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 –
(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.
Claim 31 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim et al disclosing a medical journal title: Auxetic Structures for Tissue Engineering Scaffolds and Biomedical Devices pages 1of 17.
NOTE: the Examiner is giving weight to the phrase: “configured to …”, however, this phrase has been identified as an intended use limitation because is typical of claim limitations which may not distinguish over prior art according to the principle. It has been held that the recitation that an element is “configured to” performing a function is not a positive limitation but only requires the ability to so perform.
Kim et al discloses a network of auxetic structure unit-cells capable of being used in adipose or breast reconstruction. As disclosed in pages 7 and 8 the document shows that the scaffold can be use in any tissue. See also Figs. 2-5, 7 and table 1 in page 10 disclosing the scaffold and the different tissues that the scaffold can be attached and cells that can growth over the scaffold.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-30 and 34-35 are allowed.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALVIN J STEWART whose telephone number is (571)272-4760. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30AM-6PM 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, Thomas Barrett can be reached at 571-272-4746. 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.
/ALVIN J STEWART/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3799 8/6/26
Prosecution Insights