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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on June 12, 2026 has been entered.
Withdrawn Rejections
Any rejections and or objections, made in the previous Office Action, and not repeated below, are hereby withdrawn due to Applicant’s amendments and/or arguments in the response dated June 12, 2026. However, new rejections may have been made using the same prior art if still applicable to the newly presented amendments and/or arguments.
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.
Claims 1, 7, 8, 10, and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yaeger (USPGPub 2018/0245730A1) in view of Casagrande (WO 2009/0144442 A1) and Short (USPN 5,271,999).
Yaeger discloses a rodent barrier (Figures; Abstract) comprising: a wire mesh layer comprising stainless steel (Paragraph 0019) and having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface (Paragraph 0019; Figure 4); an adhesive extending through the wire mesh layer from the first surface to the second surface, wherein the adhesive layer is configured to bond the first surface of the wire mesh layer to a separate surface as part of a duct tape structure (Paragraph 0019; Figure 4) as in claim 1. In claim 7, the cylindrical wire mesh is cut along a transverse axis to form a planar wire mesh layer (The recitation that “the cylindrical wire mesh is cut along a transverse axis to form a planar wire mesh layer” is a process recitation in a product. Product claims including process recitations are not limited by the manipulation of the recited steps, only the structure implied by the steps. See MPEP 2113. In the present instance, the process steps imply that the wire is in the form of a sheet. The reference discloses such a product. See Figure 1B). However, Yaeger fails to disclose the adhesive secures the first surface of the wire mesh layer to a separate target surface, and secures the wire mesh layer to the protective layer, the adhesive layer comprises a thermoplastic rubber; the protective layer comprises a low-density polyethylene (LDPE) film having a thickness of 25 µm to about 150 µm, the adhesive layer comprises a hotmelt adhesive, the hotmelt adhesive comprises an additive, and the additive comprises an antioxidant.
Casagrande et al. teach a barrier (Figures; Abstract) comprising a mesh layer (Page 5, line 27 to Page 6, line 2), adhesive extending through the wire mesh layer from the first surface to the second surface, the adhesive secures the first surface of the wire mesh layer to a separate target surface, and secures the wire mesh layer to the protective layer (Figure 2, #2 and 3; Page 5, line 22 to Page 6, line 18; Claim 1; Page 3, line 15 – 32) for the purpose of trapping insects (Page 5, lines 4 – 11).
Short teaches a duct tape (Abstract) having an adhesive layer comprises a thermoplastic rubber (Abstract); and a protective layer bonded to the adhesive at the second surface (Column 5, lines 5 – 36), wherein the protective layer comprises a low-density polyethylene (LDPE) film (Column 5, lines 32 – 36) having a thickness of 25 µm to about 150 µm (Column 8, lines 48 – 53, wherein 1.6 mils is equal to 40.6 µm), the adhesive layer comprises a hotmelt adhesive (Abstract), the hotmelt adhesive comprises an additive (Abstract), the additive comprises an antioxidant (Abstract), and the protective layer comprises low density polyethylene (LDPE) (Column 5, lines 32 – 36) for the purpose of having a tape that may be removed from a surface without leaving behind adhesive (Abstract).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a duct tape made with a protective layer and hotmelt adhesive and an adhesive that surrounds the mesh in Yaeger in order to trap insects as taught by Casagrande and to have a tape that may be removed from a surface without leaving behind adhesive as taught by Short.
Claims 3, 5, and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yaeger (USPGPub 2018/0245730A1) in view of Casagrande (WO 2009/0144442 A1) and Short (USPN 5,271,999) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Ono et al. (USPGPub 2022/0056316 A1).
Yaeger, as modified with Short and Casagrande, discloses the claimed invention except for a release layer removably coupled to the adhesive layer, the wire mesh layer is formed from a cylindrical wire mesh, and the cylindrical wire mesh comprises a knitted sleeve.
Ono et al. teach a laminate structure (Abstract) with a release layer removably coupled to an adhesive layer (Paragraph 0066), the cylindrical wire mesh comprises a knitted sleeve (Paragraphs 0068 and 0092), the adhesive layer comprises a hotmelt adhesive (Paragraph 0074), the hotmelt adhesive comprises a thermoplastic rubber (Paragraph 0056), and the outer protective layer comprises cotton (Paragraph 0068) or silicone (Paragraph 0056) for the purpose of having a laminate structure with excellent adhesive characteristics (Paragraph 0013).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the specific materials in the modified Yaeger in order to form a laminate structure with excellent adhesive characteristics as taught by Ono et al.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1, 3, 5 – 8, 10, and 11 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
In response to Applicant’s argument that Yaeger fails to disclose “the adhesive secures the first surface of the wire mesh layer to a separate target surface, and secures the wire mesh layer to the protective layer”, please see the newly presented rejection in view of Casagrande.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Patricia L Nordmeyer whose telephone number is (571)272-1496. The examiner can normally be reached 10am - 6:30pm EST, Monday - Friday.
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/Patricia L. Nordmeyer/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1788
/pln/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1788 June 24, 2026
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