DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . This action is responsive to the amendments received after a Non-Final Rejection on 23 February 2026. Claims 1 and 3 are currently pending.
Drawings
In view of the claim amendments received on 23 February 2026, the drawings received on 08 October 2024 are accepted by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informality:
In line 5, it appears that the phrase “theat least one fixation plaque” should read “the at least one fixation plaque” (i.e. to add a space between “the” and “at”).
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by DeVincenzo et al. (U.S. Patent 7,559,764).
DeVincenzo et al. disclose (as to claim 1) a surgical plaque/plate (see Figure 8) comprising at least one fixation plaque/plate (20) capable of fixing separated bone parts of lower and upper jaws in an orthognathic surgery (see Note below regarding functional language), wherein the at least one fixation plaque/plate comprises a plurality of holes (see annotated Figure below) and at least one formed section (see annotated Figure below), the at least one formed section being a recess (see annotated Figure below) provided on a surface (i.e. left/right surfaces as best seen in Figure 8) of the at least one fixation plaque/plate between adjacent ones of the plurality of holes (location as best seen in Figure 8), at least one vertical extension (i.e. extension defined by 27 and portion of 20 connected to 27), wherein the vertical extension is connected from a side (i.e. side of 20 facing 27 as best seen in Figure 8) of the fixation plaque/plate to fix broken parts of a mandibula (see Note below regarding functional language), at least one carrier element (22/26) capable of moving linearly on (i.e. via linear movement of 26 into 27) the vertical extension to provide a skeletal anchorage (see Note below regarding functional language), and at least one hook (24, see column 3, lines 17-21 referring to 24 capable of being bent in a variety of directions) provided on a side (i.e. side of 26 facing 24 as best seen in Figure 8) of the carrier element, wherein (as to claim 3) the vertical extension is a rectangular protrusion (rectangular shape as best seen in Figure 8), wherein the rectangular protrusion is at least partially engaged to the fixation plaque/plate at a right angle (see Figure 8 and column 3, lines 40-42 referring to a similar, but alternate embodiment) (see Figure 8, and column 2, line 42 – column 4, line 37).
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Note: Regarding functional language, "[a]pparatus claims cover what a device is, not what a device does." Hewlett-Packard Co. v. Bausch & Lomb Inc., 909 F.2d 1464, 1469, 15 USPQ2d 1525, 1528 (Fed. Cir. 1990) (emphasis in original). A claim containing a "recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus" if the prior art apparatus teaches all the structural limitations of the claim. Ex parte Masham, 2 USPQ2d 1647 (Bd. Pat. App. & Inter. 1987) (see MPEP 2114(II)).
Response to Arguments
The applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1 and 3 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.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LARRY E WAGGLE, JR whose telephone number is (571)270-7110. The examiner can normally be reached TEAP: Monday - Friday (7:45am - 3:45pm).
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/LARRY E WAGGLE, JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3775
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