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 .
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.
Claims 1 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102A1 as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0038109, hereafter referred to as ‘Battista’. Regarding claim 1, Battista discloses a projectile toss target game apparatus (figures 3-5), comprising: a planar playing surface 110 arranged at an angle to a ground surface (see fig. 4); an opening 126 formed through the planar playing surface (fig. 3), the opening being of sufficient size and shape to allow passage of the projectile therethrough (bean bag 150 passes target opening 126, see para. #’s 26-28); and a recessed area 124 (as broadly claimed, the sunken or hollowed area creates a recessed opening 124) formed in the playing surface proximate to the opening 126 (fig. 3), the recessed area 124 being of sufficient size and shape to retain the projectile stationary upon the angled playing surface (see para. # 28, the projectile 150 becomes stationary on angled playing surface 110 when it gets partially lodged in recessed area and then the user receives a point).
Regarding claim 5, the projectile toss target game apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a side wall 112 that extends at least partly around the playing surface 10 and upwardly from the playing surface (fig. 3).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-4 and 6-17 are 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.
Claims 18-20 are allowed.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Devine and Davis disclose projectile toss games which are similar to applicant’s invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THOMAS M SEMBER whose telephone number is (571)272-2381. The examiner can normally be reached flexing generally from 7 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. M-F.
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/THOMAS M SEMBER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875