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 .
This office action is responsive to the Amendment and Remarks filed 4 February 2026. Claims 1-25 are pending in this application, with claims 1-14 and 20-25 presently under consideration, and claims 15-19 remaining withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 25 July 2025.
Response to Amendment
The rejection of claims under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112(pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as set forth in paragraph 5 of the previous office action on the merits, is hereby withdrawn in view of applicant’s amendments to the claims deleting “a volume” and “the volume”.
Applicant’s amendments have failed to satisfactorily address the rejection of claim 1 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112(pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as set forth in paragraph 8 of the previous office action on the merits.
The rejection of claims under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112(pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as set forth in paragraph 9 of the previous office action on the merits, is hereby withdrawn in view of applicant’s cancellation of the same.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 4 February 2026 are silent with respect to the rejection of claims under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112(pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as set forth in paragraph 8 of the previous office action on the merits,
Applicant's arguments filed 4 February 2026 with respect to the rejection of claims under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) over Maclennan et al. (WO 2023/250192 A2), as set forth in paragraph 12 of the previous office action on the merits, have been fully considered and are persuasive. The aforementioned rejection has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments filed 4 February 2026 with respect to the alleged allowability of the claims have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to any of the references being used in the current rejection.
Allowable Subject Matter
The indicated allowable subject matter in paragraph 14 of the previous office action on the merits is hereby withdrawn
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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 1-14 and 20-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chan et al. (U.S. Patent No. 9,703,050).
Figure 2A (column 7, line 32+) and claim 4 of Chan et al. teach a composite material characterized by comprising a porous material comprising pores containing a ferroelectric nematic liquid crystal.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Geraldina Visconti whose telephone number is (571)272-1334. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm.
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, Mark F Huff can be reached at 571-272-1385. 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.
GERALDINA VISCONTI
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1737
/GERALDINA VISCONTI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1737