They can pay for a three month extension, submit another claims amendment, then hope that the PTO's response delay will put them beyond the March 26, 2006 SOL expiration date for civil action.
At this point their revolutionary invention rests solely on the base claims of being operable at significant stand-off distances IMO.
Unless they clarify (at the very least) what a "significant distance" is in units of measurement I believe that this patent is on it's way to final rejection. Of course, I'm not a patent attorney and that's just my novice opinion. BUT, I'd be willing to bet on it (sorry Scared).
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.