DETAILED ACTION
Acknowledgment is made of the preliminary amendment filed on 3/25/25. Claims 16-30 are currently 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 Objections
Claim 30 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 30, line 4, substitute “bis” with –and--.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 16-18, 23, 28, and 30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Smoczynski (US 4,223,918).
Smoczynski teaches
Regarding claim 16,
a method for manufacturing a card-type data carrier (credit card 10) having a top side (layer 20) and a bottom side (layer 21) arranged parallel to one another, and having a circumferential side face which connects the top side and bottom side to one another, characterized by the step of coating the circumferential side face with a colored coating in such a way that the colored coating is spaced apart from the top side and from the bottom side along the entire circumferential side face (col. 2, lines 33-47);
regarding claim 17, the method according to claim 16, wherein an inkjet printing method is used to generate the coating;
regarding claim 18, the method according to claim 16, wherein the card-type data carrier is aligned vertically during the coating step (see figure 3);
regarding claim 23, the method according to claim 16, wherein the colored coating is applied to the circumferential side face with a constant spacing from the top side and from the bottom side (see figures 3 and 4).
Regarding claim 28, the method according to claim 16, wherein the colored coating has a constant width along the circumferential side face (see figures 3 and 4);
Regarding claim 30,
a card-type data carrier having a top side and a bottom side arranged parallel to one another, and having a circumferential side face which connects the top side and bottom side to one another, wherein a colored coating with a thickness in the range of 1 bis 50 µm on the circumferential side face, wherein the colored coating is spaced apart from the top side and from the bottom side along the entire circumferential side face (see figures 3 and 4).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 19-22, 24-27, and 29 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including 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: the prior art of record fails to teach or fairly suggest either alone or in combination thereof:
regarding claim 19, the method according to claim 16, wherein the card-type data carrier is held between two half shells during the coating step, wherein the half shells partially cover the circumferential side face in each case along the entire circumferential side face;
regarding claim 20, the method according to claim 19, wherein, during the coating step, the half shells are spaced apart from the top side and the bottom side of the card-type data carrier in a region adjoining the circumferential side face, which extends along the entire circumferential side face;
regarding claim 21, the method according to claim 18, wherein the circumferential side face forms a respective circumferential edge with the top side of the card-type data carrier on the one hand and with the bottom side thereof on the other and the half shells each adjoin the circumferential side face at least along one of the circumferential edges during the coating step;
regarding claim 22, the method according to claim 16, wherein the card-type data carrier is fixed in a holder relative to a coating device, which color-coats the circumferential side face, in such a way that the colored coating is spaced apart from the top side and from the bottom side along the entire circumferential side face;
Regarding claim 24, the method according to claim 16, wherein the colored coating is applied to the circumferential side face with a varying spacing from the top side or from the bottom side or both from the top side and from the bottom side,
wherein the varying spacing preferably comprises a wave-like progression, a zigzag-like progression, a crenelated progression or a progression formed in the manner of mutually adjacent curves;
regarding claim 29, the method according to claim 24, wherein the varying spacing from the top side
is at its minimum where the varying spacing from the bottom side is at its minimum, or
is at its maximum where the varying spacing from the bottom side is at its maximum, or
is at its minimum where the varying spacing from the bottom side is at its minimum and at its maximum where the varying spacing from the bottom side is at its maximum.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMARA ALZAIDA FRANKLIN whose telephone number is (571)272-2389. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm
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January 23, 2026
/JAMARA A FRANKLIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876