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
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, 2, 11, 14, 16, and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2023/0074471 to Murrin et al. (hereinafter “Murrin”).
-From Claim 1: Murrin discloses a topper 11 configured to be received on a metal fence post 15, the topper comprising:
a housing 33 configured to fit over a top of the metal fence post; and
a locking clip 39 positioned within the housing and configured to secure the housing to the metal fence post.
-From Claim 2: Murrin discloses wherein the locking clip include a pair of curved projections, each of the pair of curved projections extend to a convex portion configured to wrap around the metal fence post.
-From Claim 11: Murrin discloses wherein the internal locking clip 39 has a pair of curved projections configured to wrap around or clip to a portion of the metal fence post, and the locking clip further includes an end portion attached to the pair of curved projections, the end portion configured to fit within a slot within the housing 33.
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-From Claim 14: Murrin discloses wherein the locking clip 39 extends from a non-fence side, the non-fence side being a side opposite of a plurality of studs 23, 25 on the metal fence post.
-From Claim 16: Murrin discloses wherein the housing and the locking clip are made of a durable plastic material (¶5) that is resistant to abrasion, corrosion, and other environmental factors, and wherein the locking clip is configured to fit between nubs 23, 25 of the metal fence post and to securely hold the topper in place on the metal fence post.
-From Claim 17: Murrin discloses a method for attaching a topper 11 on a metal fence post 15, the method comprising:
placing a locking clip 39 onto the metal fence post;
attaching a housing 33 to the locking clip; and
internally securing the housing 33 over a top of the metal fence post with the locking clip 39.
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) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Murrin in view of US 6691479 to Tscharner (hereinafter “Tscharner”).
-From Claim 8: Tscharner teaches a topper similar to Murrin wherein the housing includes a top, an opening opposite the top of the housing, and a plurality of sides 34, and wherein the plurality of sides of the housing have contours that follows a shape of the metal fence post (See Fig. 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Murrin by adding sides with contours to follow the shape of the post as taught by Tscharner in order to more securely connect the topper to the fence post.
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Murrin in view of US 6353187 to Wilson Jr. (hereinafter “Wilson Jr.”).
-From Claim 15: Wilson Jr. teaches a topper similar to Murrin, and includes an external hot wire provision 14 to provide an additional deterrent to animals that may attempt to dislodge said topper from the metal fence post, wherein the external hot wire provision is an appendage made of a durable plastic material (Abstract) and configured to be secured to the housing and to hold an electrified wire, rope, or tape, the external hot wire provision configured to be placed on the fence side of the metal fence post or the non-fence side of the metal fence post, the fence side being on a side of a plurality of nubs on the metal fence post, and the non-fence side being on a side opposite of the plurality of nubs on the metal fence post.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Murrin by adding an external hot wire provision as taught by Wilson Jr. in order to allow the topper to act as a privacy or deterrent measure against animals or intruders.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-7, 9, 10, 12, 13, and 18-20 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.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment (specifically, to claim 1, requiring that the locking clip be positioned within the housing) 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 DANIEL J WILEY whose telephone number is (571)270-7324. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm PST.
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/DANIEL J WILEY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3678 5/28/2026
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