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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 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.
(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.
Claims 1 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Davis (WO 2022/217045).
Regarding claim 1, Davis teaches a pickleball paddle (Figure 1, element 100), comprising:
a paddle body (Figure 1, element 110) and
a handle (Figure 1, element 112) connected to the paddle body;
the paddle body including a substrate layer (Figure 3, element 118) and
a fiber face sheet (Figure 3, elements 120 and 122; Paragraph 0071, lines 1-2); the fiber face sheet overlaying either surface of the substrate layer;
a coating (Paragraph 0058, line 8) being provided on an outer surface of the fiber face sheet,
an outer surface of the coating having a texture (Paragraph 0064, line 3) formed by directly pressing the coating.
Regarding claim 3, Davis teaches a fiber face sheet is made of a carbon fiber material (Paragraph 0032, lines 1-2) or a glass fiber material.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Davis (WO 2022/217045) in view of Thurman et al. (US 2021/0252356).
Regarding claim 2, Davis teaches all elements of claim 1 and a transparent resin coating (Paragraph 0058, line 8), but fails to teach a pattern layer provided on the outer surface of the fiber face sheet.
Thurman et al. teaches a pattern layer provided on the outer surface of the fiber face sheet (Paragraph 0178, lines 2-3), and a transparent coating (Paragraph 0085, lines 28-29) that covers the pattern. Thurman teaches that pickleball paddle faces may contain a graphic such as a logo, image, or design to provide a unique aesthetic appearance.
It would be obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Davis to incorporate the teachings of Thurman et al. to include a graphic layer to provide a unique aesthetic appearance.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Davis (WO 2022/217045) in Snow (US 2002/0198071).
Regarding claim 4, Davis teaches all elements of claim 1 and a transparent resin coating (Paragraph 0058, line 8), but fails to teach a semi-gloss oil-based coating or a full-gloss oil-based coating. It is well-known in the art of athletic equipment that resins are oil-based coatings available in semi-gloss or full-gloss finishes. Snow teaches a high-gloss epoxy resin coating to provide an aesthetic and durable outer layer to a softball bat. Both softball bats and pickleball paddles are athletic equipment used to hit a ball in the air, therefore the athletic bat disclosed by Snow is analogous art for a full-gloss oil-based coating.
It would be obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Davis to incorporate the teachings of Snow to include a high-gloss epoxy resin coating to provide an aesthetic and durable outer layer to a pickleball paddle.
Conclusion
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/K.G.Y./Examiner, Art Unit 3711 /EUGENE L KIM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3711