DETAILED 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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The listing of references in the specification is not a proper information disclosure statement. 37 CFR 1.98(b) requires a list of all patents, publications, or other information submitted for consideration by the Office, and MPEP § 609.04(a) states, "the list may not be incorporated into the specification but must be submitted in a separate paper." Therefore, unless the references have been cited by the examiner on form PTO-892, they have not been considered.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
In paragraph [001], line 3, “are” should be changed to --is--.
In paragraph [002], line 2, “resistance exercise device incorporated into clothing, such as a shirt, a pant using which a user” should be changed to --resistance exercise device incorporated into clothing, such as a shirt or pant, during use of which a user--
In paragraph [002], line 3, “limbs related muscles” should be changed to --limbs or related muscles--.
In paragraph [003], line 8, “discloses in the prior arts” should be changed to --disclosed in the prior art--.
In paragraph [012], line 8 “heal” should be changed to --heel--.
In paragraph [016], line 2, “using which” should be changed to --during use of which--.
In paragraph [022], line 6, “heal” should be changed to --heel--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: the claim must end in a period “.”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities: There should be a colon (:) between “of” and “workout” in line 2 of the claim. Appropriate correction is required.
[AltContent: textbox (The claim or claims must commence on a separate physical sheet or electronic page and should appear after the detailed description of the invention. Any sheet including a claim or portion of a claim may not contain any other parts of the application or other material. While there is no set statutory form for claims, the present Office practice is to insist that each claim must be the object of a sentence starting with "I (or we) claim," "The invention claimed is" (or the equivalent). If, at the time of allowance, the quoted terminology is not present, it is inserted by the Office of Data Management. Each claim begins with a capital letter and ends with a period. Periods may not be used elsewhere in the claims except for abbreviations. See Fressola v. Manbeck, 36 USPQ2d 1211 (D.D.C. 1995). Where a claim sets forth a plurality of elements or steps, each element or step of the claim should be separated by a line indentation, 37 CFR 1.75(i).)]Claim 5 is objected to because of the following informalities: MPEP §608.01(m) sets forth the requirements for the form of claims. Particularly, the section requires:
Claim 5 is objected to for containing multiple periods within the claim. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim 5 is 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.
Claim 5 recites in lines 2-3 “According to an embodiment”. It is unclear whether the limitation that follows “according to an embodiment” is required by the claim or is a mere preference. This renders the scope of the claim indefinite, as the metes and bounds of the claimed invention are unclear. Appropriate correction is required. Examiner suggests removing the limitation “According to an embodiment” from the claim to overcome this rejection.
Claim 5 recites in lines 1-2: “wherein the elongated flat body is coupled to the underside of a back portion of the exercise clothing.” and further recites in lines 4-5: “The elongated flat body of the device is coupled to the underside of the back portion of the exercise clothing”. The second instance of this limitation is a substantial duplicate of the first, which renders the metes and bounds of the claimed invention unclear. Examiner suggests deleting the second instance of the limitation to overcome this rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 4 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by
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Harb (US PGPub. 2013/0067628). Harb describes the same invention as claimed, including:
Regarding claim 1, Harb shows: A resistance exercise device (shirt resistance band 32) comprising an elongated flat body (shirt resistance band 32 is depicted as flat in Figures 1 and 2) having a first end (origin 33) and a second end (insertion 34), wherein the device is configured to be incorporated within exercise clothing (Fig. 2 and para. 26: “Referring again to FIG. 2, an opening 25A is disposed on each sleeve channel 25 at the distal end 26 and at the medial end 27. A shirt reinforced panel 30 is disposed horizontally and partially upwardly on the open-ended torso 23 back 22. A shirt resistance band 32 is removably disposed within each sleeve channel 25. Each shirt resistance band 32 has an origin 33 at the shirt reinforced panel 30 and an insertion 34 disposed laterally and distally on the open-ended long sleeve 24.”).
Regarding claim 4, Harb shows: wherein the exercise clothing is selected from the group consisting of workout tops, shirts, hoodies, jackets, jumpers and sweaters (See Figs. 1 and 2, which depict a shirt).
Regarding claim 5, Harb shows: wherein the elongated flat body (resistance band 32) is coupled to the underside of a back portion of the exercise clothing (see Fig. 2 and para. 26: “Each shirt resistance band 32 has an origin 33 at the shirt reinforced panel 30”). According to an embodiment, the length of the body (resistance band 32) is kept nearly equal or more than the length from shoulder portion (generally the area indicated by 20 in Fig. 1) to waist portion (23) of the exercise clothing (see Fig. 2, the length of the resistance band 32 appears to be nearly equal or more than the length from the shoulder portion of the shirt to the waist portion of the shirt). The elongated flat body of the device is coupled to the underside of the back portion of the exercise clothing (see Fig. 2 and para. 26: “Each shirt resistance band 32 has an origin 33 at the shirt reinforced panel 30”).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See form PTO-892 for cited art of interest.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SUNDHARA M GANESAN whose telephone number is (571)272-3340. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30AM-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, LoAn Jimenez can be reached on (571)272-4966. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SUNDHARA M GANESAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3784