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 .
Claims 1-3, 14, 27, 36-39, 42-43, 45-46, 49, 61, 69, 71-72, 93, 109-110, 113-116, 134, 142, 160, 166, 178, 245-248, and 253-258 are pending in the instant application.
Information Disclosure Statements
The information disclosure statements filed on October 29, 2025 and May 22, 2026 have been considered and signed copies of form 1449 are enclosed herewith.
Double Patenting
A rejection based on double patenting of the “same invention” type finds its support in the language of 35 U.S.C. 101 which states that “whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process... may obtain a patent therefor...” (Emphasis added). Thus, the term “same invention,” in this context, means an invention drawn to identical subject matter. See Miller v. Eagle Mfg. Co., 151 U.S. 186 (1894); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Ockert, 245 F.2d 467, 114 USPQ 330 (CCPA 1957).
A statutory type (35 U.S.C. 101) double patenting rejection can be overcome by canceling or amending the claims that are directed to the same invention so they are no longer coextensive in scope. The filing of a terminal disclaimer cannot overcome a double patenting rejection based upon 35 U.S.C. 101.
Claims 1-3, 14, 27, 36-39, 42-43, 45-46, 49, 61, 69, 71-72, 93, 109-110, 113-116, 134, 142, 160, 166, 178, 245-248, and 253-258 are provisionally rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as claiming the same invention as that of claims 1-3, 14, 27, 36-39, 42-43, 45-46, 49, 61, 69, 71-72, 93, 109-110, 113-116, 134, 142, 160, 166, 178, 245-248, and 253-258 of copending Application No. 18/983,714 (reference application). This is a provisional statutory double patenting rejection since the claims directed to the same invention have not in fact been patented.
Conclusion
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/KRISTIN A VAJDA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1622
