DETAILED ACTION
Summary
Claims 1-20 are pending in the application. Claims 4 and 15 are rejected under 35 USC 112(b). Claims 4 and 15 are rejected under 35 USC 112(d).
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
Claims 4 and 15 objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 4 recites “the second area” in line 3. It should recite “the one or more second areas”.
Claim 15 recites “the second area” in line 3. It should recite “the one or more second areas”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 and 15 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 “wherein the plural luminance areas include only the first and the second area”. However, claim 2 recites “wherein the plural luminance areas include the first area and the third area”. It is not clear whether the third area is a part of the plural areas. Clarification is required. For the purposes of examination, the third area will not be considered part of the plural luminance areas.
Claim 15 recites “wherein the plural luminance areas include only the first and the second area”. However, claim 13 recites “wherein the plural luminance areas include the first area and the third area”. It is not clear whether the third area is a part of the plural areas. Clarification is required. For the purposes of examination, the third area will not be considered part of the plural luminance areas.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claims 4 and 15 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Claims 4 and 15 fail to include all the limitations upon which they depend, as they exclude the third area from the plural luminance areas even though the parent claims explicitly states the third area is a part of the plural luminance areas. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-3, 5-14, and 16-20 allowed.
Claims 4 and 15 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Claims 1-3, 5-14, 16-17 and 20 are allowable, and claims 4 and 15 would be allowable, for the same reasons as set forth on pages 9-10 of the non-final rejection mailed 5/15/2026. Claims 18-19 were amended to remove the contingent limitations, and they therefore inherit all the limitations of the base claim. Claims 18-19 are also allowable by virtue of their dependency.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 8/15/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that claims 4 and 15 were amended to obviate the rejections under 35 USC 112(b) and 35 USC 112(d). The Examiner disagrees. As detailed above, the claims are still indefinite under 35 USC 112(b) and fail to include all the limitations of the claim upon which they depend. Therefore, the rejections under 35 USC 112(b) and 35 USC 112(d) are maintained.
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.
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/SEAN D MATTSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3798
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