Notice of Non-Final Rejection
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 .
Double Patenting
Claims 1- 10 (??) of this application is patentably indistinct from claims 1- of Application No. 19/189,229. Pursuant to 37 CFR 1.78(f), when two or more applications filed by the same applicant or assignee contain patentably indistinct claims, elimination of such claims from all but one application may be required in the absence of good and sufficient reason for their retention during pendency in more than one application. Applicant is required to either cancel the patentably indistinct claims from all but one application or maintain a clear line of demarcation between the applications. See MPEP § 822.
Claim Objections
The numbering of claims is not in accordance with 37 CFR 1.126 which requires the original numbering of the claims to be preserved throughout the prosecution. When claims are canceled, the remaining claims must not be renumbered. When new claims are presented, they must be numbered consecutively beginning with the number next following the highest numbered claims previously presented (whether entered or not).
Example: Misnumbered claim 2 has been renumbered as claim 1 (actually it is depending claim 1). Similarly several other independent claims and dependent claims are wrongly numbered.
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 1-10 (??) 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.
Referring to claims 1-10 (??) Examiner is not clear on how to read the claims as the independent claims and dependent claims are messed up with repetition of numbers. Hence it is difficult to determine the scope of the claims as independent claims and dependent claims should follow a continuity according to MPEP. Hence, examiner suggests to applicant to amend the claim numbers properly according to MPEP.
Conclusion
Claims 1-10 (??) are rejected.
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/SRINIVAS SATHIRAJU/06/16/2026
SRINIVAS . SATHIRAJU
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2845