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
Claims 43-49,53-61 are objected to because of the following informalities:
The following recitations of “flat feature” should be changed to –generally flat feature--.
Claim 43, line 17.
Claim 44, line 1.
Claim 45, line 1.
Claim 46, line 1.
Claim 47, line 1.
Claim 48, line 2.
Claim 49, line 1.
Claim 53, line 1.
Claim 54, lines 1 and 2.
Claim 55, lines 1 and 2.
Claim 56, line 1.
Claim 58, lines 13 and 14.
Claim 59, line 3.
Claim 60, lines 1 and 2.
Claim 61, line 1.
In claim 47, line 2, “the central axis” should be –the main-central axis--.
In claim 57, line 2, “the main axis” should be –the main-central axis--.
In claim 61, line 2, it appears that “the platform” should be –the platform surface--.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 58-62 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 58 is unclear and indefinite because it is incomplete. Line 16 ends with “and” and the claim does not end with a period. For purposes of this action, it will be assumed that “and” is not being recited and that line 15 ends with a period.
Claim 61 is unclear and indefinite, because a period has been inserted after “shape” in line 1, and the claim ends with a semicolon instead of a period. For purposes of this action, line 2 is assumed to read –has a rounded scalloped shape, a non-rotational feature extending from the platform surface.—
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 43-57 are allowed.
Claims 58-62 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The references to Blackbeard et al 20170281320, Malo Carvalho et al 20110183291, Orhnell et al 20080234675, Branemark 7866981 and Branemark 5564926 are exemplary of the current state of the art in zygomatic dental implants.
It appears that Blackbeard et al 20170281320 is the closest prior art to the claimed subject matter, as fig. 7A discloses what appears to be a flat surface in the coronal portion. It is also noted that the reference to Benatuvil et al 20110027756 also discloses a flat surface in the coronal portion, although the implant disclosed is not a zygomatic dental implant. However these references taken alone or in combination, do not disclose the zygomatic dental implant as claimed.
It is also noted that U.S. Patents 11278379 and 12004920 which have issued from parent applications of the instant application, recite claims that include limitations that can be found in the instant claims. However, no double patenting rejections have been applied over these references because the instant claims have been found to be non-obvious and patently distinct over them.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICHOLAS D LUCCHESI whose telephone number is (571)272-4977. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 800-430.
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, Eric Rosen can be reached at 571-270-7855. 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.
/NICHOLAS D LUCCHESI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3772