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 .
This action is in response to the documents, amendments and remarks received on July 10, 2026.
Terminal Disclaimer
The terminal disclaimer filed on July 10, 2026 disclaiming the terminal portion of any patent granted on this application which would extend beyond the expiration date of US Patent 11,857,190 has been reviewed and is accepted. The terminal disclaimer has been recorded.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed July 10, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant has argued that VENDELY et al. does fails to teach, suggest or otherwise render obvious the amended limitatations of a buttress comprising a visual indicium that extends lateralloy across at least a portion of the body from a lateral side edge of the body in a direction transverse to the first length of the body of the buttress. While the embodiment of VENDELY et al. relied upon for the rejection mailed on April 13, 2026 does not illustrate a visual indicium configured as currently claimed, figure 73 of VENDELY et al. discloses an alternative embodiment of an assembly including a buttress body 3202 having visual indicia 3226 that extends in a direction transverse to the length of the buttress body 3202.
Thus, Examiner maintains that the invention(s) of claims 37-40 are unpatentable over VENDELY et al. as further discussed below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 37-40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over VENDELY et al. (US 10,166,023).
In reference to claims 37, figure 73 of VENDLEY et al. discloses an applicator assembly including a platform 3222 positioned within a U-shaped (column 70 lines 34-39) gap of a housing 3224; a buttress body 3202 having an adhesive thereon (abstract), the buttress body 3202 positioned on at least a portion of the platform 3222, and a visual indicium 3226 that extends laterraly across at least a portion of the body 3202 from a lateral side edge of the body 3202 in a direction transverse to a first length of the body 3202 (column 75 lines 11-60).
VENDLEY et al. does not mention a tray in the embodiment 3200 having trimming features as claimed. However, VENDLEY et al. discloses an alternative embodiment (figures 7-9) of an applicator assembly 200 which also includes a platform 220 positioned within a housing 210, 218; as well as, movable features 252 coupled to a base 260 of a tray (figure 9). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the invention to have modified the applicator assembly of VENDLEY et al. with the trimming feature to include a tray, since column 25 lines 37-40 of VENDLEY et al. states such a modification provides structural support to movable features (i.e. trimming feature(s)) of the applicator assembly.
Regarding claims 38 and 39, VENDLEY et al. disclose the at least one visual indicium 3226 as various shapes integrally formed with the buttress body. Column 75 lines 31-40 of VENDLEY et al. expresses a desire to provide visual feedback to a user that corresponds to the positioning of the buttress assembly with features, wherein the visual feedback can include visibly colored markings printed or etched into a surface of the assembly. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the invention to have modified the buttress assembly with a printed colored marking for the purpose of ensuring blade 1354 is aligned with a variable length feature 1356 of the buttress assembly.
With respect to claim 40, the abstract and figure 35A of VENDLEY et al. discloses the knowledge in the art to provide the buttress body with an adhesive 1338 of a first material and the portion of the buttress body and the visual indicium 3226 is of a second material.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 21-36 are allowed.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GLORIA R WEEKS whose telephone number is (571)272-4473. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-2pm & 5pm-7pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Shelley Self can be reached on 571-272-4524. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GLORIA R WEEKS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3731
November 19, 2022
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