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 .
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(s) 21-26, 28-30, & 40-42 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cox 8,683,742 (of record) in view of Scarabino 2007/0193914.
Cox shows a seeding system, which includes seeds 12, 22 within a growing medium 14, 20 such as soil, contained within a capsule outer layer 16. The growing medium may be compressed, and the outer layer applied as a biodegradable coating (column 3, line 63 to column 4, line 8). The assembly is described as a "pellet", but it is not clear if it may be spherical. A spherical assembly may be easier to handle and distribute. For example, Scarabino discloses that an encapsulated seed may be spherical, to be propelled by a gun. This spherical shape would be an obvious modification of the seed assembly of Cox.
With regard to claims 22-25, Scarabino notes that the projectile can be of various sizes (paragraph 0061); the diameter would be an obvious adjustment for the environment.
With regard to claim 26, the pellet of Cox may include different materials 12, 22.
Claim(s) 31-38, 43, & 44 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cox in view of Scarabino as applied to claims 21-26, 28-30, & 42 above, and further in view of Corak et al 2010/0263274.
It is not clear if the seed assembly of Cox includes foam. Corak discloses a system that improves handling, distribution, planting, and cultivating of seeds (paragraph 0005), in which the seeds may be encapsulated in biodegradable foam with binders (paragraph 0032). The capsule may include a uniform material or layers of different material (paragraph 0037). This foam and binders would be an obvious addition to the seed assembly of Cox. With regard to claim 40, the package size would be an obvious adjustment for transport.
Claim(s) 39 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cox in view of Scarabino and Corak et al as applied to claim 38 above, and further in view of Olson 5,353,712.
Scarabino suggests that the projectile of Cox may be spherical, but it is not clear if the surface includes a texture. Olsen discloses that a spherical projectile may include a pattern of dimples, which helps the projectile fly further and more accurate (column 4, lines 20-31). These dimples would be an obvious addition to the projectile of Cox and Scarabino.
Applicant’s arguments filed 9/17/2025 with respect to the rejection(s) of the claim(s) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Cox.
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/JOHN A RICCI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3711