LIGHT EMITTING CHIP INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF LIGHT EMITTING UNITS AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS

Application No. 19/211,692

• Filed: May 19, 2025
• Priority: Aug 23, 2022 — JP 2022-132718
  • Aug 11, 2023 — continuation of 12/332,579
• Examiner: TRAN, HOAN H
• Assignee: Canon Inc.
• OA Round: 1 (Non-Final)

Office 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 .

Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.

Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 05/19/2025 and 09/11/2025 have been considered.

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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as claiming the same invention as that of claim 1 of prior U.S. Patent No. 12,332,579 to Daisuke Akagai. This is a statutory double patenting rejection.

Prior Art
6. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure:
- Nagata [9,836,674] discloses an image forming apparatus.

Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the
examiner should be directed to HOAN H TRAN whose telephone number is [phone].
The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 9AM-5:30PM.
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, Walter Lindsay can be reached on 571-272-1674. The fax phone number for the
organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HOAN H TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852 06/24/26

Prosecution Timeline

• May 19, 2025: Application Filed
• Jun 26, 2026: Non-Final Rejection mailed — §101 (current)