`
`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
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`UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
`United States Patent and Trademark Office
`Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
`P.O. Box 1450
`Alexandria1 Virginia 22313- 1450
`www.uspto.gov
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`APPLICATION NO.
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` F ING DATE
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`FIRST NAMED INVENTOR
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`ATTORNEY DOCKET NO.
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`
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`CONF {MATION NO.
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`1 1/721,086
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`06/07/2007
`
`Teruko Yamamoto
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`P32297
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`6265
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`7055
`7590
`09/02/2011
`GREENBLUM & BERNSTEIN, P.L.C.
`1950 ROLAND CLARKE PLACE
`RESTON, VA 20191
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`EXAMINER
`NELSON, MATTHEW M
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`ART UNIT
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`3776
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`PAPER NUMBER
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` NOT *ICATION DATE
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`DELIVERY MODE
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`09/02/201 1
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`ELECTRONIC
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`Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
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`The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
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`Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above—indicated "Notification Date" to the
`following e—mail address(es):
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`gbpatent @ gbpatent.c0m
`pto @ gbpatent.c0m
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`PTOL—90A (Rev. 04/07)
`
`

`

`
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`Application No.
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`Applicant(s)
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` . . . . 11/721 ,086 YAMAMOTO ET AL.
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`Applicant-Initiated Interwew Summary
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`Art Unit
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`
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`Examiner
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`MATTHEW NELSON
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`3776
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`All participants (applicant, applicant’s representative, PTO personnel):
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`(1 ) MA TTHEW NELSON.
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`(3) Inventors and Japan Attorney.
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`(2) Enoch Peavey, Bill Pieprz.
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`(4)
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`.
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`Date of Interview: 25 August 201 1.
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`Type:
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`I:I Video Conference
`|:| Telephonic
`IZI Personal [copy given to: El applicant
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`|:| applicant’s representative]
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`E! No.
`IZI Yes
`Exhibit shown or demonstration conducted:
`If Yes, brief description: Invention and process of making shown.
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`Issues Discussed D101 D112 IXI102 IXI103 |:IOthers
`(For each of the checked b0x(es) above, please describe below the issue and detailed description of the discussion)
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`Claim(s) discussed:_1.
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`Identification of prior art discussed: Kurz, Smiley.
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`Substance of Interview
`(For each issue discussed, provide a detailed description and indicate if agreement was reached. Some topics may include: identification or clarification of a
`reference or a portion thereof, claim interpretation, proposed amendments, arguments of any applied references etc...)
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`Suggested amending to distinguish the features of the cavity, such as that the cavity provides play in a labial lingual
`direction rather than the occlusal gingival direction of Smile )1. Further search and consideration is rguired.
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`Applicant recordation instructions: The formal written reply to the last Office action must include the substance of the interview. (See MPEP
`section 713.04). If a reply to the last Office action has already been filed, applicant is given a non-extendable period of the longer of one month or
`thirty days from this interview date, or the mailing date of this interview summary form, whichever is later, to file a statement of the substance of the
`interview
`
`Examiner recordation instructions: Examiners must summarize the substance of any interview of record. A complete and proper recordation of
`the substance of an interview should include the items listed in MPEP 713.04 for complete and proper recordation including the identification of the
`general thrust of each argument or issue discussed, a general indication of any other pertinent matters discussed regarding patentability and the
`general results or outcome of the interview, to include an indication as to whether or not agreement was reached on the issues raised.
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`|:| Attachment
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`
`
`/Matthew M Nelson/
`Examiner, Art Unit 3776
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`/Cris L. Rodriguezl
`Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3732
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` US. Patent and Trademark Office
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`PTOL-413 (Rev. 8/11/2010)
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`Interview Summary
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`Paper No. 20110825
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`

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`Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP), Section 713.04, Substance of Interview Must be Made of Record
`A complete written statement as to the substance of any face-to-face, video conference, or telephone interview with regard to an application must be made of record in the
`application whether or not an agreement with the examiner was reached at the interview.
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`Summary of Record of Interview Requirements
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`Title 37 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) § 1.133 Interviews
`Paragraph (b)
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`In every instance where reconsideration is requested in view of an interview with an examiner, a complete written statement of the reasons presented at the interview as
`warranting favorable action must be filed bythe applicant. An interview does not remove the necessity for reply to Office action as specified in §§ 1.111, 1.135. (35 U.S.C. 132)
`
`37 CFR §1.2 Business to be transacted in writing.
`A“ business with the Patent or Trademark Office should be transacted in writing. The personal attendance of applicants or their attorneys or agents at the Patent and
`Trademark Office is unnecessary. The action of the Patent and Trademark Office will be based exclusively on the written record in the Office. No attention will be paid to
`any alleged oral promise, stipulation, or understanding in relation to which there is disagreement or doubt.
`
`The action of the Patent and Trademark Office cannot be based exclusively on the written record in the Office if that record is itself
`incomplete through the failure to record the substance of interviews.
`It is the responsibility of the applicant or the attorney or agent to make the substance of an interview of record in the application file, unless
`the examiner indicates he or she will do so.
`It is the examiner‘s responsibility to see that such a record is made and to correct material inaccuracies
`which bear directly on the question of patentability.
`
`Examiners must complete an Interview Summary Form for each interview held where a matter of substance has been discussed during the
`interview by checking the appropriate boxes and filling in the blanks. Discussions regarding only procedural matters, directed solely to restriction
`requirements for which interview recordation is otherwise provided for in Section 812.01 of the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure, or pointing
`out typographical errors or unreadable script in Office actions or the like, are excluded from the interview recordation procedures below. Where the
`substance of an interview is completely recorded in an Examiners Amendment, no separate Interview Summary Record is required.
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`The Interview Summary Form shall be given an appropriate Paper No., placed in the right hand portion of the file, and listed on the
`“Contents” section of the file wrapper.
`In a personal interview, a duplicate of the Form is given to the applicant (or attorney or agent) at the
`conclusion of the interview.
`In the case of a telephone or video-conference interview, the copy is mailed to the applicant‘s correspondence address
`either with or prior to the next official communication. If additional correspondence from the examiner is not likely before an allowance or if other
`circumstances dictate, the Form should be mailed promptly after the interview rather than with the next official communication.
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`The Form provides for recordation of the following information:
`— Application Number (Series Code and Serial Number)
`— Name of applicant
`— Name of examiner
`— Date of interview
`— Type of interview (telephonic, video-conference, or personal)
`— Name of participant(s) (applicant, attorney or agent, examiner, other PTO personnel, etc.)
`— An indication whether or not an exhibit was shown or a demonstration conducted
`— An identification of the specific prior art discussed
`— An indication whether an agreement was reached and if so, a description of the general nature of the agreement (may be by
`attachment of a copy of amendments or claims agreed as being allowable). Note: Agreement as to allowability is tentative and does
`not restrict further action by the examiner to the contrary.
`— The signature of the examiner who conducted the interview (if Form is not an attachment to a signed Office action)
`
`It is desirable that the examiner orally remind the applicant of his or her obligation to record the substance of the interview of each case. It
`should be noted, however, that the Interview Summary Form will not normally be considered a complete and proper recordation of the interview
`unless it includes, or is supplemented by the applicant or the examiner to include, all of the applicable items required below concerning the
`substance of the interview.
`A complete and proper recordation of the substance of any interview should include at least the following applicable items:
`1) A brief description of the nature of any exhibit shown or any demonstration conducted,
`2) an identification of the claims discussed,
`3) an identification of the specific prior art discussed,
`4) an identification of the principal proposed amendments of a substantive nature discussed, unless these are already described on the
`Interview Summary Form completed by the Examiner,
`5) a brief identification of the general thrust of the principal arguments presented to the examiner,
`(The identification of arguments need not be lengthy or elaborate. A verbatim or highly detailed description of the arguments is not
`required. The identification of the arguments is sufficient if the general nature or thrust of the principal arguments made to the
`examiner can be understood in the context of the application file. Of course, the applicant may desire to emphasize and fully
`describe those arguments which he or she feels were or might be persuasive to the examiner.)
`6) a general indication of any other pertinent matters discussed, and
`7) if appropriate, the general results or outcome of the interview unless already described in the Interview Summary Form completed by
`the examiner.
`Examiners are expected to carefully review the applicant‘s record of the substance of an interview.
`accurate, the examiner will give the applicant an extendable one month time period to correct the record.
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`If the record is not complete and
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`Examiner to Check for Accuracy
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`If the claims are allowable for other reasons of record, the examiner should send a letter setting forth the examiner‘s version of the
`statement attributed to him or her.
`If the record is complete and accurate, the examiner should place the indication, “Interview Record OK” on the
`paper recording the substance of the interview along with the date and the examiner‘s initials.
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