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 .
Applicant’s Submission of a Response
Applicant’s submission of response was received on 08/10/2026. Presently claims 1-15 are pending.
Response to Arguments
Abstract and claim objections have been withdrawn based upon Applicant’s amendments.
Rejections based on 35 U.S.C. 112(b) have been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments, see page 6, filed 08/10/2026, with respect to claim 15 have been fully considered and are not persuasive. Although claim 11 is allowed, claim 15 is a separate claim with respect to claim 11. Claim 15 is a product claim, reciting of a turbine housing and further includes all of the limitations of method claim 11. However, the limitation “formed by the method of claim 11” recited in line 1 of claim 15, which incorporates all of the method limitations of claim 11 into claim 15, renders the claim as a product-by-process claim because as shown below, Certilange et al. discloses a turbine housing (24). Therein, the apparatus or structure claimed is identical to that described in the reference and is therefore anticipated by the reference because patentability of a product does not depend on its method of production. See MPEP 2113. Therein, the rejection is maintained and this action has therefore been made final.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Certilange et al. (U.S. 10,823,008).
Regarding claim 15, Certilange et al. discloses a turbine housing (24) formed by the method of claim 11 (the limitation “formed by the method of claim 11” renders the claim as a product-by-process claim. As shown above, the apparatus or structure claimed is identical to that described in the reference and is therefore anticipated by the reference because patentability of a product does not depend on its method of production. See MPEP 2113).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-14 are allowed, as indicated in the prior office action.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIC J ZAMORA ALVAREZ whose telephone number is (571)272-7928. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30 am- 5:00 pm EST alternating Fridays off.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, COURTNEY HEINLE can be reached at (571)270-3508. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ERIC J ZAMORA ALVAREZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3745 08/24/2026
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