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 .
In a preliminary amendment on 4/18/2025:
Claims 1-43 have been canceled.
Claims 44-73 have been examined.
Applicants have amended the parent claims with additional features.
This application is a continuation of parent application 17/421,047, now US Pat 12,139,821.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 8/31/2026 have been fully considered and they are persuasive. The applicants have amended the claims with the convergent gas flow and of the gas flow that deflects the stream of material to form a focused stream of polymeric fibers in the first direction and the prior art references do not teach of this feature. After reconsideration of the amended claimed invention and the prior art references, the rejection of the claims based upon prior art references are now withdrawn. It is noted that the double patenting rejection of the claims are still remaining as previously presented.
Information Disclosure Statement
The IDS’s submitted by the applicants on 8/31/2026 have been received and reviewed. It is noted references cited in the IDS include references that were first cited in parent application 17/421,047, now US Pat 12,139,821.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 44-63 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-19 of U.S. Patent No. 12,139,821 B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claims of the pending application having some of the same features and also broader than that of the claims in the ‘812 patent.
Claims 44-54 corresponds to claims 12-19 of the ‘821 patent.
Claims 55-63 corresponds to claims 1-11 of the ‘821 patent.
Claims 64-73 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-11 of U.S. Patent No. 12,139,821 B2 in view of AHN (US 2020/0376170 A1).
Claims 1-11 of the ‘812 patent do not claim of a bath proximate to the reservoir to receive the ejected materials so that the polymer can coagulate, precipitate, or cross-link to form a stream of polymeric fibers travel toward a target.
See in AHN, the teaching of spinning with a rotating reservoir in forming a scaffold, see Fig. 1, and wherein, there is further a cross-linking bath [0102-0103], another embodiment of spinning to a precipitation bath [0194], and in [0204] of a wet rotating collection bath.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the claimed invention of the ‘812 patent with an additional bath as taught by AHN, wherein it allows for one embodiment in enabling rapid carrier solvent dissolution, and precipitation and stabilization of the protein in their fibrous physiological structures, see [0521].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 44-73 are allowed over the prior art references.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The prior art references of the STERN and PARKER references above fail to teach of the convergent gas flow and of the gas flow that deflects the stream of material to form a focused stream of polymeric fibers in the first direction and the prior art references do not teach of this feature
In reviewing of the latest IDS’s submitted by the applicants, it is noted CN 103998667 A is of note – see Fig. 5, see streams of air/gas 530, 531, 532 compared ot the reservoir and flow of fibers 524. The reference does not teach of the convergent air flow and the configuration for the deflection which is within the claimed degree from the angle of rotation.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 EMMANUEL S LUK whose telephone number is (571)272-1134. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9 to 5.
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, Xiao S Zhao can be reached at 571-270-5343. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/EMMANUEL S LUK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1744
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