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 § 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.
Claim(s) 1-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over “Not a gimmick! Rezztek hockey player & goalie stick blade grip tape review” (YouTube video dated 8-4-22), hereinafter (“Rizztek”), in view of “Cutting a Design & Gripping a Board”, (YouTube video dated 7-15-2010), hereinafter (“Cutting Design”). Rizztek discloses a hockey stick blade covering that is configured to be applied to opposing sides of a hockey stick blade wherein the hockey stick blade covering comprises: a body, said body being planar in manner, said body having a first side and a second side, said first side having an adhesive disposed thereon, said body having a lower edge, an outer edge, an inside edge and an upper edge defining a shape for said body that is mateably shaped to a hockey stick blade, said second side being distal to a surface of the hockey stick blade ensuing adherence of the hockey stick blade covering.
Rizztek does not disclose at least one aperture, said at least one aperture being formed completely through said body, said at least one aperture providing exposure of the surface of the hockey stick in a defined location. Cutting Design teaches grip tape having at least one aperture being formed completely through said body, said at least one aperture providing exposure of a surface in a defined location. The purpose of the aperture in Cutting design is to allow personalization of the covering. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the covering in Rizztek to have the at least one aperture therethrough. The motivation would be to allow personalization of the covering. All claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to a skilled artisan at the time the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Carruthers (US 5,810,682). Carruthers discloses a hockey stick blade covering that is configured to be applied to opposing sides of a hockey stick blade wherein the hockey stick blade covering comprises: a body, said body being planar in manner, said body having a first side and a second side, said first side having an adhesive disposed thereon, said body having a lower edge, an outer edge, an inside edge and an upper edge defining a shape for said body that is mateaably shaped to a hockey stick blade, said second side being distal to a surface of the hockey stick blade ensuing adherence of the hockey stick blade covering.
Carruthers does not disclose at least one aperture, said at least one aperture being formed completely through said body, said at least one aperture providing exposure of the surface of the hockey stick in a defined location, but it is commonly known in the art that stickers/decals/emblems will often have cutouts through them as part of the design of the stickers/decals/emblems. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the covering in Carruthers to have an aperture therethrough as part of the design of the stickers/decals/emblems. All claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to a skilled artisan at the time the invention was made.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to REGINALD S TILLMAN, JR whose telephone number is (571)270-7010. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 830-530.
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/REGINALD S TILLMAN, JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3641