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: Claim 1 recites “an prosthesis” which appears to mean “a prosthesis”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claims recite part of the human body in combination with the device, e.g. “bonded on a prepared tooth” in claim 1 and “bonded on a lingual side of the prepared tooth”/”bonded on a labial side of the prepared tooth” in claim 3. It has been held that a claim directed to or including within its scope, a human being will not be considered to be patentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. 101. The grant of limited, but exclusive property right in a human being is prohibited by the constitution. In re Wakefield, 422 F.2d 897, 164 USPQ 636 (CCPA 1970). Language such as “when in use” or “configured to be” is suggested.
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 4-6 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 4 recites “molding a prosthesis”, however the preamble states “A method of manufacturing the artificial crown of claim 1”, and therefore it is unclear if the prosthesis recited in line 2 is the same or different from that established in claim 1. It is suggested to change the language to “molding the prosthesis”.
Claim 6 recites “a lingual/labial pattern section bonded on a lingual/labial side of the prepared tooth”. It is unclear if a bonding limitation is meant to be included; however it appears this is meant to say “configured to be bonded” since there is no step of bonding, nor would this step be expected in a method of manufacture, since it has no relevance to the manufacture of the artificial crown, but rather the use thereof. The claim will be read as “configured to be bonded” in order for purposes of examination.
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 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Park (KR 20220127567).
Park shows an artificial crown (Fig. 4) comprising: a prosthesis (at 10 in Fig. 1, 4) fitted and bonded on a prepared tooth (to be bonded as in Fig. 1/[0077]); having a retention groove in which the prepared tooth is inserted (interior of 10 near 200 in Fig. 4); and a plurality of pattern sections formed to extend into a predetermined depth and inclined on an inner surface of the prosthesis (patterns of 300 and 400 extending around circumferentially; incline shown in Fig. 7 in particular), in order to receive an adhesive for bonding the prosthesis on the prepared tooth ([0009] “a pattern structure in which the adhesive is well maintained on the inner surface of the crown” from translation).
With respect to claim 2, wherein the plurality of the pattern sections is formed to extend into a depth of 0.01mm through 2mm on the inner surface of the retention groove of the prosthesis, respectively (as seen in Fig. 5 and stated in [0014], the protrusion heights start at approximately 0 mm at the opening and increase in height along the longitudinal length, thus overlapping with the claimed range). With respect to claim 3, wherein the plurality of the pattern sections comprises, a lingual pattern section bonded on a lingual side of the prepared tooth (pattern 400 that is to be placed on the lingual side and bonded thereto); a labial pattern section bonded on a labial side of the prepared tooth (pattern 400 that is to be placed on the labial side and bonded thereto), wherein a depth of the lingual pattern section is formed to be deeper than a depth of the labial pattern section (as seen in Fig. 4-5, and also [0021] discusses same or different protrusion heights/depths).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 4-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park in view of Weigl et al. (US 2004/0106087).
Park discloses the device as previously described above and wherein the prosthesis is formed of ceramic or metal materials ([0043] of translation; “zirconia or ceramic material”), but fails to show specifically molding the prosthesis in a predetermined shape using an injection molding process and forming the plurality of the pattern sections by applying a laser engraving on the inner surface of the prosthesis.
Weigl similarly teaches a dental crown manufacturing method wherein both use of an injection mold for forming a traditional ceramic restoration ([0006]) and also the use of an ultra-short-pulse laser to define retention patterns into the ceramic ([0022]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Park’s method by utilizing known injection molding and laser engraving techniques as taught by Weigl in order to utilize conventional methods of forming a restoration and allowing very controlled retention patterns to substantially improve the adhesive bond ([0022] for instance).
Claims 5 and 6 are rejected similarly to claims 2 and 3 above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW NELSON whose telephone number is (571)270-5898. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 7:30am-5:00pm EDT.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, please contact the examiner’s supervisor, Eric Rosen, at (571) 270-7855. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MATTHEW M NELSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3772