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.
Claim(s) 1-6 and 8-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shenzhen (WO 2017080011, as cited by Applicant).
Examiner’s Note: It has been held that a recitation italicized with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus satisfying the claimed structural limitations. Ex parte Masham, 2 USPQ2d 1647 (1987).
As for Claim 1, Shenzhen discloses a bracelet strap comprising:
a strap portion (20);
at least one connecting element (21) connected inseparably to said strap portion;
at least one adaptation link (link at distal end of 10), intended to be connected, by means of a semi-permanent fixing, to an esthetic element (10) and to be detachably connected to said at least one connecting element (Figs. 2 and 4);
said at least one adaptation link including a locking and/or unlocking buttons (34) intended, when actuated, to bring the adaptation link from a locked position, in which said at least one connecting element is locked to the adaptation link (see Figs. 4-5), into an unlocked position, in which said at least one connecting element can be disconnected from the adaptation link (see Fig. 4), the locking and/or unlocking button being hidden when the bracelet strap is being worn (see Figs. 1 and 5-6).
2. The bracelet strap as claimed in claim 1, wherein the strap portion is either a strap portion formed completely or partly from a flexible material, or a strap portion made up of articulated links (see Fig. 4).
3. The bracelet strap as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one element and the at least one adaptation link are connected to one another removably by means of a male portion (21) inserted into a female opening (12), said locking and/or unlocking button making it possible to prevent the male portion from being extracted from said female opening when said at least one adaptation link is in the locked position, and allowing this extraction when said at least one adaptation link is in the unlocked position (see Figs. 5-6).
4. The bracelet strap as claimed in claim 3, wherein said female opening forms part of a clasp (body defining opening of 12) and forms a groove in a traverse direction relative to the length of the strap portion, the male portion being designed to slide in the groove as it is being inserted or extracted (see Fig. 6 disclosing a transverse groove defined in 31 which the male portion 21 slides into).
5. The bracelet strap as claimed in claim 4, comprising at least one row of links (links defined by apertures of 20) comprising a fixed adaptation link and a mobile adaptation link (links defined by apertures of 20), the fixed and mobile adaptation links being intended to be connected to the clasp, the mobile adaption link being intended to perform the function of the locking and/or unlocking button, said mobile adaption link being designed for this reason to pivot about an axis parallel to the groove between the locked position and the unlocked position so as to allow or respectively to block the insertion or the extraction of the male portion relative to the groove.
6. The bracelet strap as claimed in claim 5, designed so that a second strap portion of the bracelet strap prevents said locking and/or unlocking button from being manipulated when the bracelet strap is fastened (see Figs. 4-6).
8. The bracelet strap as claimed in claim 3, wherein the or each adaptation link comprises a housing (housing defined by distal portions of 10, see Figs. 4-6) and wherein the locking and/or unlocking button is in the form of a pushbutton arranged inside the housing of the or of each adaptation link so that it can move therein when the or each adaptation link is brought from the locked position to the unlocked position (see Figs. 4-6).
9. The bracelet strap as claimed in claim 8, wherein the or each adaptation link comprises, on one side, a passage communicating with the housing, the or each pushbutton comprising a mobile body (31) and an elastic member (33) arranged in the housing to collaborate with the mobile body (see Fig. 4), said mobile body comprising the female opening (312 and 315), and wherein at least one connecting element, is connected inseparably to said strap portion (see Figs. 4-6) and is or are designed to be introduced into the passage and the female opening of the or of each corresponding adaptation link so as to lock said strap portion to the watch case without the need to actuate the pushbutton or pushbuttons (see Fig. 5).
10. The bracelet strap as claimed in claim 9, wherein the mobile body has a tooth (tooth of 31) arranged facing the passages, the or each connecting element comprising a hook (hook defined by 211/212) engaging with the tooth in the locked position (see Fig. 5), actuation of the pushbutton allowing the tooth to disengage from the hook so that said strap portion of the bracelet strap can be disconnected (see Figs. 4-6).
11. The bracelet strap as claimed in claim 1, wherein said strap portion comprises a plurality of links of a first type (links defined on one strap portion 20) and a plurality of links of a second type (links defined on the other strap portion 20), the or each adaptation link being substantially indistinguishable from said links of the second type when the bracelet strap is being worn (see Fig 2).
12. The bracelet strap as claimed in claim 11, the links of the first type having an appearance (see Fig. 2), that are substantially identical to one another, the links of the second type having an appearance (see Fig. 2), that are substantially uniform in relation to one another, the or each adaptation link having an appearance, that is substantially identical to that of the links of the second type when the bracelet strap is being worn (see Fig. 2).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 13 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 9/9/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to Applicant’s argument that Shenzhen neither discloses a semi-permanent fixing, as disclosed in claim 1, it appears that the argument if further limiting. Applicant fails to positively claim the semi-permanent fixing because the recitation is preceded by “intended to be connected” which does not positively recite the requirement of the structure.
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, filed 9/9/205, with respect to Claim 13 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The 102 rejection of Claim 13 has been withdrawn.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID M UPCHURCH whose telephone number is (571)270-7957. The examiner can normally be reached 6AM-3PM EST M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jason San can be reached at (571)272-6531. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DAVID M UPCHURCH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3677