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 .
Communicating with the USPTO
It is noted that the applicant is appearing pro se before the USPTO for prosecuting the current patent application. If the applicant wishes to employ the service of a registered patent attorney or agent, a listing is available at https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/patent-and-trademark-practitioners/finding-patent-practitioner.
Additional resources for pro se inventors may be found in the USPTO website, under our Pro Se Assistance Program and our Pro Se Resource pages (See Applicant Resources and Contact Center information):
Filing a patent application on your own | USPTO
The Pro Se Assistance Program also offers telephone or video conference advice to answer patent-related questions and assist with patent prosecution. Contact the Pro Se Assistance Center to schedule an appointment at 1-866-767-3848.
To avoid a response that is considered non-compliant, applicant is advised to follow a standard format, a sample of which can be found on the USPTO website at:
https://www.uspto.gov/patents/maintain/responding-office-actions
In the case the applicant wishes to communicate via Internet e-mail, a complete PTO/SB/439 form may be submitted by mail, fax or electronically prior to any e-mail communication. https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/sb0439.pdf
However, please note that all formal replies to Office Actions must be submitted via mail, fax or EFS web. Formal replies CANNOT be submitted via e-mail.
Although this Office action is a rejection, your patent application process is NOT terminated. Rather, it means additional changes, corrections, or discussions are required before a patent may be issued to you.
Official correspondence with the USPTO must be signed or considered non-compliant. Please note carefully of the statutory response periods set forth in the Office Action Summary (PTOL-326). Extension fees and time periods CANNOT be waived.
Specification
The following guidelines illustrate the preferred layout for the specification of a utility application. These guidelines are suggested for the applicant’s use.
Arrangement of the Specification
As provided in 37 CFR 1.77(b), the specification of a utility application should include the following sections in order. Each of the lettered items should appear in upper case, without underlining or bold type, as a section heading. If no text follows the section heading, the phrase “Not Applicable” should follow the section heading:
(a) TITLE OF THE INVENTION.
(b) CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS.
(c) STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT.
(d) THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT.
(e) INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A READ-ONLY OPTICAL DISC, AS A TEXT FILE OR AN XML FILE VIA THE PATENT ELECTRONIC SYSTEM.
(f) STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR A JOINT INVENTOR.
(g) BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION.
(1) Field of the Invention.
(2) Description of Related Art including information disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98.
(h) BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION.
(i) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S).
(j) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION.
(k) CLAIM OR CLAIMS (commencing on a separate sheet).
(l) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE (commencing on a separate sheet).
(m) SEQUENCE LISTING. (See MPEP § 2422.03 and 37 CFR 1.821 - 1.825). A “Sequence Listing” is required on paper if the application discloses a nucleotide or amino acid sequence as defined in 37 CFR 1.821(a) and if the required “Sequence Listing” is not submitted as an electronic document either on read-only optical disc or as a text file via the patent electronic system.
Content of Specification
(a) TITLE OF THE INVENTION: See 37 CFR 1.72(a) and MPEP § 606. The title of the invention should be placed at the top of the first page of the specification unless the title is provided in an application data sheet. The title of the invention should be brief but technically accurate and descriptive, preferably from two to seven words. It may not contain more than 500 characters.
(b) CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS: See 37 CFR 1.78 and MPEP § 211 et seq.
(c) STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT: See MPEP § 310.
(d) THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT. See 37 CFR 1.71(g).
(e) INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A READ-ONLY OPTICAL DISC, AS A TEXT FILE OR AN XML FILE VIA THE PATENT ELECTRONIC SYSTEM: The specification is required to include an incorporation-by-reference of electronic documents that are to become part of the permanent United States Patent and Trademark Office records in the file of a patent application. See 37 CFR 1.77(b)(5) and MPEP § 608.05. See also the Legal Framework for Patent Electronic System posted on the USPTO website (https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2019LegalFrameworkPES.pdf) and MPEP § 502.05
(f) STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR A JOINT INVENTOR. See 35 U.S.C. 102(b) and 37 CFR 1.77.
(g) BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION: See MPEP § 608.01(c). The specification should set forth the Background of the Invention in two parts:
(1) Field of the Invention: A statement of the field of art to which the invention pertains. This statement may include a paraphrasing of the applicable U.S. patent classification definitions of the subject matter of the claimed invention. This item may also be titled “Technical Field.”
(2) Description of the Related Art including information disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98: A description of the related art known to the applicant and including, if applicable, references to specific related art and problems involved in the prior art which are solved by the applicant’s invention. This item may also be titled “Background Art.”
(h) BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION: See MPEP § 608.01(d). A brief summary or general statement of the invention as set forth in 37 CFR 1.73. The summary is separate and distinct from the abstract and is directed toward the invention rather than the disclosure as a whole. The summary may point out the advantages of the invention or how it solves problems previously existent in the prior art (and preferably indicated in the Background of the Invention). In chemical cases it should point out in general terms the utility of the invention. If possible, the nature and gist of the invention or the inventive concept should be set forth. Objects of the invention should be treated briefly and only to the extent that they contribute to an understanding of the invention.
(i) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S): See MPEP § 608.01(f). A reference to and brief description of the drawing(s) as set forth in 37 CFR 1.74.
(j) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION: See MPEP § 608.01(g). A description of the preferred embodiment(s) of the invention as required in 37 CFR 1.71. The description should be as short and specific as is necessary to describe the invention adequately and accurately. Where elements or groups of elements, compounds, and processes, which are conventional and generally widely known in the field of the invention described, and their exact nature or type is not necessary for an understanding and use of the invention by a person skilled in the art, they should not be described in detail. However, where particularly complicated subject matter is involved or where the elements, compounds, or processes may not be commonly or widely known in the field, the specification should refer to another patent or readily available publication which adequately describes the subject matter.
(k) CLAIM OR CLAIMS: See 37 CFR 1.75 and MPEP § 608.01(m). The claim or claims must commence on a separate sheet or electronic page (37 CFR 1.52(b)(3)). 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. There may be plural indentations to further segregate subcombinations or related steps. See 37 CFR 1.75 and MPEP 608.01(i) - (p).
(l) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE: See 37 CFR 1.72 (b) and MPEP § 608.01(b). The abstract is a brief narrative of the disclosure as a whole, as concise as the disclosure permits, in a single paragraph preferably not exceeding 150 words, commencing on a separate sheet following the claims. In an international application which has entered the national stage (37 CFR 1.491(b)), the applicant need not submit an abstract commencing on a separate sheet if an abstract was published with the international application under PCT Article 21. The abstract that appears on the cover page of the pamphlet published by the International Bureau (IB) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is the abstract that will be used by the USPTO. See MPEP § 1893.03(e).
(m) SEQUENCE LISTING: See 37 CFR 1.821 - 1.825 and MPEP §§ 2421 - 2431. The requirement for a sequence listing applies to all sequences disclosed in a given application, whether the sequences are claimed or not. See MPEP § 2422.01.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 includes multiple indentations all beginning with a capital letter. In addition, The claim is written with multiple sentences in paragraph format. A proper claim should commence with a capital letter; each indentation should begin with lower case, separated by a comma; and end with a period. 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 1 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.
The terms “uniquely”, “meticulously”, “innovative”, “flawless”, “strategically”, “ingeniously” and “exceptional” are considered relative terms which renders the claim indefinite. The terms “uniquely”, “meticulously”, “innovative”, “flawless”, “strategically”, “ingeniously” “exceptional” and “flame retardant feature” are not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
The claim language should be limited to structural features and their relative juxtaposition with respect to each other. Descriptive language or adjectives are not considered patentable because the metes and bounds of the terms cannot be fully ascertain.
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Smochek (US 6,502,322).
With respect to claim 1, Smochek discloses a stud leveling system (10) for ensuring precise alignment and stability of wall surfaces during the installation of wall boards, tile backer boards, and wall tiles, comprising:
a. a uniquely designed corner piece (35) featuring precision- engineered/meticulously crafted slots (60), and a full piece (50) with an innovative breakaway connection mechanism (100);
b. said corner piece (35) configured to undergo separation under controlled force application (i.e. removing the strap 100), thereby facilitating seamless corner formation, and said full piece (50) with the breakaway connection (100) allows precise adjustment in vertical and horizontal dimensions, ensuring flawless plumb alignment within framing studs (See Figure 2);
c. said full piece (50 in Figure 4) further comprising strategically positioned slots (322) featuring predetermined fracture points, strategically positioned to enable effortless separation and repositioning;
d. a meticulously selected array of materials, meticulously chosen for their exceptional durability, strength, and compatibility with diverse construction materials, including but not limited to thermoplastic or metallic materials (See Columns 3 and 4, lines 64 – 67 and lines 26 – 28, respectively);
e. a self-gripping mechanism (i.e. VELCRO® at the end of strap 100 and magnet 200) integrated into the stud leveling system, allowing effortless attachment to framing studs, thereby streamlining installation and enhancing precision,
f. the stud leveling system compatible with a wide range of wall boards and pipes (Column 4, lines 1 – 3) including but not limited to posts, pipes and various other construction materials, ensuring unmatched versatility and applicability across diverse construction projects;
g. an innovative flame retardant feature ( i.e. the tool is made of metallic material which is not considerable flammable) meticulously incorporated into the stud leveling system, utilizing a specially selected fireproof filament meticulously chosen for its exceptional resistance to ignition and flame spread, thereby significantly enhancing fire safety in construction environments and minimizing potential hazards,
h. the stud leveler end (Figures 1 and 2 of Smochek) is expertly beveled, ensuring seamless and effortless placement onto the stud allowing for smooth and hassle free operation of the stud leveler.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The following references are considered relevant but fail to teach the combination as claimed:
Lewis et al. (US Pub. No. 2024/0084611 A1)
Steele (US 7,254,920 B2)
Daugherty (US Pub. No. 2006/0265895 A1)
Ames (US 7,059,05 B1)
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YARITZA GUADALUPE-MCCALL whose telephone number is (571)272-2244. The examiner can normally be reached Mon -Thu, 8:00am - 6:00pm.
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, Laura Martin can be reached on 571-272-2160. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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YARITZA GUADALUPE-MCCALL
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2855
September 12, 2025
/YARITZA GUADALUPE-MCCALL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855