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 § 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.
Claims 1, 6, 7, 8, and 12 are 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.
In claims 1 and 12 it is unclear if each tear strip is connected to the bottom by a single hinge or if each tear strip is connected to the bottom by its own individual hinge. This is found in limitations such as “connected to the bottom by a hinge”, “rotating the at least two tear strips about the hinge”, and “the bottom hinge”.
Claim 12 recites the limitation "the container" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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, 7, and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bautner US 6,546,670 in view of Shaffer et al US 10,716,264.
Regarding claims 1, 7, and 8, Bautner discloses a biodegradable plant container containing a plant with roots (Bautner, column 3: lines 28-29), the biodegradable plant container comprising: a. a bottom (56); b. a top opening (Bautner, Figure 7); and c. a side having at least two tear strips (64) each having a length and defined by tear lines (62) extending from the top opening to the bottom and connected to the bottom by a hinge (formed at the intersection of 60 and 56); wherein the plant container is formed of a biodegradable material (Bautner, column 7: lines 8-9), and wherein by rotating the at least two tear strips (64) about the hinge the lengths of the at least two tear strips define a diameter of the planting hole based on the lengths of the at least two tear strips. Rotating the tear strips of Bautner about the hinge would inherently define a diameter based on the lengths of the tear strips. Defining a diameter of a planting hole is claimed, not the planting hole itself or that the plant or container is within the planting hole. Bautner is capable of performing the functional limitation of “the plant container remains in the planting hole”.
Bautner fails to disclose the biodegradable material being plastic.
Shaffer teaches a biodegradable plastic plant container (Shaffer, abstract) and comprising a fertilizer (Shaffer, column 6: lines 39-46). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention with a reasonable expectation of success to substitute the biodegradable plastic of Shaffer for the biodegradable material of Bautner so as to ensure the durability of the container
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 12 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
Claim 6 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 9 and 10 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art fails to disclose the claimed invention wherein a container has a tear strip with a root slicer extending from an inside surface of the tear strip, using the lengths of the tear strip to define a planting hole diameter, providing a planting hole having that diameter and placing the container in the planting hole.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KRISTEN C HAYES whose telephone number is (571)272-7881. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-6pm.
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/KRISTEN C HAYES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3642
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