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.
Claim(s) 1 and 4-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Buehler (US 2005/0116334).
Regarding claims 1 and 4, Buehler teaches a wrap (para [0039] [0051] [0052], the protective cover of Buehler, is a cover, meeting the claimed limitations of claim 4) configured for covering at least a selected portion of a component of electronic equipment (para [0039] [0051] [0052], [0057], Fig. 1), the wrap comprising:
- a planar body, with a shape configured for covering an external surface of the selected portion of the electronic equipment (para [0039] [0050]-[0052], [0067], Fig. 2, para [0041], the protective cover of Buehler is contoured to conform to the shape of the electronic equipment, and thus is of the desired shape/configuration corresponding to the shape/configuration of the electronic equipment to be protected and covered);
- wherein the planar body comprises: a first surface configured for attaching to the external surface of the selected portion of the electronic equipment; and a second surface opposite of the first surface (para [0039] [0051] [0052], Fig. 1, the protective cover of Buehler has a first surface for attaching to the external surface of the electronic equipment, and the surface opposite to the first surface is considered being the second surface meeting the claimed limitations).
Regarding claim 5, Buehler teaches in its wrap, the planar body is made of vinyl (para [0045], the suitable material includes vinyl), meeting the claimed limitations.
Regarding claim 6, Buehler teaches the first surface is configured for releasably attaching to the external surface of the selected portion of the electronic equipment (para [0038], the wrap, the first surface, is removably attached to the electronic device).
Regarding claim 7, Buehler teaches the first surface is capable of adhering to the external surface of the selected portion of the electronic equipment via an adhesive (para [0038], the first surface includes pressure sensitive adhesive).
Regarding claim 8, Buehler teaches the planar body comprises at least two portions for separately covering at least an end wall portion of the external surface of the electronic equipment and at least a sidewall portion of the external surface of the electronic equipment (para [0039], [0041], the wrap/cover is wrapped around one or more sides of the electronic device, i.e., including end wall, sidewall portion), meeting the claimed limitations.
Regarding claim 9, Buehler teaches as in one of its embodiments wherein the end wall portion is a top portion or a bottom portion of the electronic equipment (para [0038], [0041] its wrap/cover covers top portion of the electronic equipment).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 2-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Buehler as applied to claim 1 above.
The limitations of claim 1 are taught by Buehler as discussed above.
Regarding claims 2-3, Buehler does not specifically teach the electronic equipment is customer premise equipment, as instantly claimed in claims 2-3.
It is noted that Buehler teaches its wrap configured for covering at least a selected portion of desired component of electronic equipment (para [0039] [0051] [0052], [0057]), the protective cover of Buehler is contoured to conform to the shape of the electronic equipment (para [0041]). Buehler teaches its wrap is suitable as a proactive cover for various electronic devices as desired (par [0002] [0015]) and the wrap/cover does not interfere the functionality of electronic device (para [0002] [0015] [0056]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Buehler to apply the wrap of Buehler to the suitable electronic equipment as desired, such as customer premise equipment, networking hardware and/or a modem as desired, to provide the electronic equipment/networking hardware/modem with a protective cover wrap, and there would be reasonable expectation of success for such modification because Buehler teaches its wrap is suitable as a proactive cover for various electronic devices as desired (par [0002] [0015]) the protective cover of Buehler is contoured to conform to the shape of the electronic equipment (para [0041]) and the wrap/cover does not interfere the functionality of electronic device (para [0002] [0015] [0056]), which would have predictably arrived at a satisfactory wrap that is the same as instantly claimed, in claims 2-3. The selection of a known material based on its suitability for its intended use supports a prima facie obviousness determination. See MPEP 2144.05.
Conclusion
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/YAN LAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1782