DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Claims 11-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention/method, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 12/9/25.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the film recited in claim 4 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Lui et al. (US 11,666,124).
Regarding claim 1, Lui discloses a band 50 comprising: a first portion 60 comprising a plurality of fibers (col 6 lines 22-63 and Figure 7); a second portion 110 extending from an end of the first portion, the second portion having a thick section and a thin section (see Figure 32, right side, showing the band end having thick and thin sections); and a first component 140/144 encompassing the thick section and a portion of the thin section (Figure 31 and 32).
Regarding claim 2, the first portion has a non-uniform cross-section – see Figure 6.
Regarding claim 3, the first portion and the second portion are a same material – see Figure 2 and sections 60 and 110.
Regarding claim 4, the second portion further includes a film 96 having a same material as the first portion (col 19 lines 23-65).
Regarding claim 5, the thin section extends from the end of the first portion – see right side of Figure 32.
Regarding claim 6, the thick section defines a plurality of holes along a length of the thick section – see pins 146 which extend through the end of the band thereby defining holes along a length of the thick section.
Regarding claim 7, a second component 70 further encompasses the first component 140/144.
Regarding claim 8, the first component includes a protrusion (see pins 146) extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis defined by the band – Figure 21.
Regarding claim 9, see pins 146 which extend through the second portion thereby defining a first hole and the first component 140/144 defines a second hole (see Figure 21), the first hole being concentric with the second hole.
Regarding claim 10, the second component 70 is configured to be engaged with a lug of a watch case 2 – Figure 1.
Conclusion
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/COREY N SKURDAL/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3734