Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 17, 2026
Application No. 18/219,070

Game Piece Mold Device

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Jul 06, 2023
Examiner
WALTER, AUDREY BRADLEY
Art Unit
3711
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
unknown
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
81%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 5m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 81% — above average
81%
Career Allow Rate
943 granted / 1163 resolved
+11.1% vs TC avg
Strong +24% interview lift
Without
With
+23.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
33 currently pending
Career history
1196
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.8%
-37.2% vs TC avg
§103
34.8%
-5.2% vs TC avg
§102
30.8%
-9.2% vs TC avg
§112
28.8%
-11.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1163 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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. Claim Objections Claims 9-11 are objected to because of the following informalities: Regarding claim 9, line 1, “The moldable game token device of claim” should be deleted. Appropriate correction is required. 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. Claims 1- 2 and 5-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) based upon a public use or sale or other public availability of the invention. “ Necromolds Gameplay Overview – Pre-Kickstarter 2019” was first upload on YouTube on 20 November 2019 ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRgs3WssTEE ; hereinafter Necromolds (YouTube) ). Regarding claim 1, Necromolds (YouTube) discloses a moldable game token device ( “ spellbook ;” also see game token device at 0:34 below) comprising a game token (“monster;” also see game token at 4:29 below) , said game token being formed of a malleable material (“clay”) , said malleable material forming a void (“smash their enemy;” also see void at 4:30 below) extending into said game token when said game token is pierced by an implement (“caster ring;” also see implement at 0:29 and 4:29 below) , said void being retained in said game token when said implement is removed from said game token (see retained void at 4:30) (see annotated YouTube frames below) . Regarding claim 2, Necromolds (YouTube) discloses t he moldable game token device of claim 1 wherein said malleable material is clay (“clay”) . Regarding claim 5, Necromolds (YouTube) discloses t he moldable game token device of claim 1, further comprising: a pair of panels (see panels at 0:34 above) being hingedly coupled together (see hinge at 0:34 above) ; and a mold insert having a front section (see front section at 0.34 above) and a back section (see back section at 0.34 above) each removably coupled to the pair of panels such that pivoting of the pair of panels into a closed position forms said game token out of said malleable material such that said game token is without an implement formed void on an outer surface of said game token (see game token on right at 4:29 above) upon removal of the game token from said mold insert (see annotated YouTube frames above) . Regarding claim 6, Necromolds (YouTube) discloses t he moldable game token device of claim 1, wherein said game token as formed at the beginning of game play has a continuous outer surface without a void (see game token on right at 4:29 above) . Regarding claim 7, Necromolds (YouTube) discloses t he moldable game token device of claim 1, further comprising said implement being structured to resemble a piercing weapon (see piercing weapon at 0:29 above; wherein the caster ring has protrusions around the circumference which resemble a piercing weapon) . Regarding claim 8, Necromolds (YouTube) discloses t he moldable game token device of claim 1, further comprising said implement being structured to resemble a branding iron (see brand at 0:29 above and shape left behind by caster ring in 4:30 above; wherein middle of caster ring resembles a brand) . Regarding claim 9, Necromolds (YouTube) discloses t he moldable game token device of claim A moldable game token device (“ spellbook ;” also see game token device at 0:34 above) comprising: a game token (“monster;” also see game token at 4:29 above) , said game token being formed of a malleable material (“clay”) , said malleable material forming a void (“smash their enemy;” also see void at 4:30 above) extending into said game token when said game token is pierced by an implement (“caster ring;” also see implement at 0:29 and 4:29 above) , said void being retained in said game token when said implement is removed from said game token (see retained void at 4:30) ; wherein said malleable material is a material selected from a group of materials consisting of clay, dough, and putty (“clay ”) ; a pair of panels (see panels at 0:34 above) being hingedly coupled together (see hinge at 0:34 above) ; and a mold insert having a front section (see front section at 0.34 above) and a back section (see back section at 0.34 above) each removably coupled to the pair of panels such that pivoting of the pair of panels into a closed position forms said game token out of said malleable material such that said game token is without an implement formed void on an outer surface of said game token (see game token on right at 4:29 above) upon removal of the game token from said mold insert (see annotated YouTube frames above) . Regarding claim 10, Necromolds (YouTube) discloses t he moldable game token device of claim 9, further comprising said implement being structured to resemble a piercing weapon (see piercing weapon at 0:29 above; wherein the caster ring has protrusions around the circumference which resemble a piercing weapon) . Regarding claim 11, Necromolds (YouTube) discloses t he moldable game token device of claim 9, further comprising said implement being structured to resemble a branding iron (see brand at 0:29 above and shape left behind by caster ring in 4:30 above; wherein middle of caster ring resembles a brand) . Claims 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) based upon a public use or sale or other public availability of the invention to Necromolds (YouTube) as applied to claim 1 above, and further evidenced by Necromolds.com archived 13 May 2020; hereinafter Necromolds.com. Regarding claim 3, Necromolds (YouTube) describes that the malleable material is clay and is silent as to using dough. However, Necromolds.com discloses the moldable game token device of claim 1 wherein said malleable material is dough (see pages 2-4 and 6 which interchangeably refer to the malleable material as clay or dough) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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 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. Claim 4 i s rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Necromolds (YouTube) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Ricottone (US 2023/0191273 A1) . Regarding claim 4, Necromolds (YouTube) does not disclose said malleable material being putty. Ricottone , however, teaches a malleable material for forming crafts, wherein said malleable material is putty (paragraphs 0003-0004, and 0019) . It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the Necromolds (YouTube) malleable material to be putty because Ricottone discloses that it is known in the art to form crafts from any suitable molding material such as putty, clay, or dough (paragraphs 0004 and 0019). Furthermore, i t would have been obvious to a person ha ving ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use putty as the Necromold (YouTube) malleable material , since an express suggestion to substitute one equivalent material for another is not necessary in order to render such substitution obvious. See MPEP 2144.06. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See Henry et al. (US 2019/0255452 A1), Loik (US 2020/0368632 A1), Bass et al. (US 4,291,884), and Lamm (US 8,006,979 B1) which all disclose similar moldable game pieces or toys. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT AUDREY B. WALTER whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-5286 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday - Friday: 8:30 am - 4:30 pm . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Eugene Kim can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-272-4463 . The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /AUDREY B. WALTER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 37 11
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Prosecution Timeline

Jul 06, 2023
Application Filed
Dec 02, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
81%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+23.6%)
2y 5m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1163 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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