DETAILED ACTION
The preliminary amendment filed November 14, 2024 has been entered. Claims 22-42 remain pending.
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 Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Currently, no claim limitation is being interpreted as invoking 35 U.S.C. 112(f).
Claim Objections
Claims 23 and 35-42 are objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate of claims 22, 24-29, and 31-32. When two claims in an application are duplicates or else are so close in content that they both cover the same thing, despite a slight difference in wording, it is proper after allowing one claim to object to the other as being a substantial duplicate of the allowed claim. See MPEP § 608.01(m). In this case, the only difference between claim 22 and claim 23 is a different percentage (75% or 50%) recited in an optional limitation. However, as an optional limitation is not required by the claim, claims 22 and 23 cover the same thing. Likewise, claims 35-42 cover the same thing as claims 24-29 and 31-32
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 22 and 24-34 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: the prior art documents disclose various methods for “producing fuel from biogas comprising: (a) providing biogas from a plurality of biogas sources, the biogas from each biogas source produced in a process comprising:(i) collecting raw biogas from one of the biogas sources in the plurality, the raw biogas comprising methane and carbon dioxide; (iv) transporting the filled vessel to a centralized processing facility by vehicle; and (v) removing the raw biogas or the partially purified biogas from the vessel transported to the centralized processing facility; (b) producing fuel in a fuel production process, the fuel production processing comprising feeding the biogas provided in step (a) to a biogas upgrading system.” However, the prior art documents do not disclose “the biogas upgrading system configured to remove carbon dioxide from the biogas; (c) processing the carbon dioxide removed in (b) for transport by vehicle, pipeline, or a combination thereof, the processing comprising cooling, compressing, or a combination thereof; and (d) sequestering the carbon dioxide processed in (c), thereby reducing a carbon intensity of the fuel produced in the fuel production process, the sequestering comprising sequestering an amount of carbon dioxide sufficient to substantially offset greenhouse gas emissions attributed to compressing and transporting the raw biogas or partially purified biogas.” The examiner finds no evidence that one of ordinary skill in the art would modify the existing systems and methods to include these steps. Therefore, the cited documents do not disclose or render obvious the claimed invention.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and claimed invention.
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/NICOLAS A ARNETT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753 December 15, 2025