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 .
Response to Amendments
Applicant filed a response and amended claim 1, 3, and 13 on 03/10/2026.
Response to Arguments
Arguments are primarily drawn to the amended claims. The revised rejection below addresses the amendments.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-2, 5-9, and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Weidl (US 12,089,699) in view of Jang (US 12,048,357) and Howell (US 8,274,537).
Regarding claim 1, Weidl teaches a process of manufacturing a baseplate comprising a plurality of cleats for athletic shoes (Figures 6A and 6B, 7, and 8),
wherein base plate may be supplied plain-colored or multi-colored and may be provided with design elements, for example by means of coating, flocking, laminating, sprinkling, bonding, and/or printing (Col 8, ln 37-47) to provide customization of the baseplate (Col 8, ln 15-36).
Weidl does not teach:
preparing an outsole plate for the outsole for graphic sublimation, the outsole plate comprising a plurality of cleat members that protrude outwardly from a base surface of the outsole plate, and mounting the outsole plate within a tray;
positioning a printed film comprising a graphic over the base surface and the plurality of cleat members of the outsole plate and the tray to form a tray assembly and positioning the tray assembly inside a vacuum-sublimation oven;
selecting a pressure, temperature, and duration for transferring the graphic on the printed film to the outsole plate based on each of a type of graphic on the printed film, a texture of the outsole plate, a height difference of the cleat members on the outsole plate, and a material of the outsole plate; and
activating the vacuum-sublimation oven to transfer the graphic on the printed film to the outsole plate at the selected pressure, temperature, and duration such that the graphic is formed over at least a first portion of the base surface and cleat members protruding from the first portion of the base surface.
While Weidl does not explicitly teach providing a pattern on both the base surface and plurality of cleat members, mere aesthetic design changes are obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art (MPEP 2144.04(I)). Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to provide personalization of both the base plate and plurality of cleat members of Weidl for the purpose of aesthetic design and personalization.
Jang teaches a process of manufacturing an outsole of a three-dimensional shape (Claim 1), comprising:
printing a pattern on a sheet formed of a thermoplastic resin using a dye (Col 4, ln 26-45);
placing the sheet on the outsole and softening the sheet using a heating device (Col 4, ln 66- Col 5, ln 8)
vacuum-suctioning the outsole of the softened sheet which includes primarily vacuum-suctioning the outsole of the softened sheet and secondarily vacuum suctioning the outsole of the softened sheet (Col 5, ln 4-29); and
fixing a pattern on the outsole at a high temperature with the dye permeated to micropores on a surface of the outsole,
wherein the primarily vacuum-suctioning the outsole of the softened sheet includes slowly attaching the softened sheet to the surface of the outsole with a low vacuum pressure, and
wherein in the secondarily vacuum-suctioning the outsole of the softened sheet, the dye is permeated into the micropores inside the surface of the outsole with a high vacuum pressure (Col 5, ln 30-35),
wherein the outsole includes studs (Col 3, ln 37-56).
Jang teaches providing a desired pattern in three-dimension for the purpose of providing a stylish appearance (e.g., personalizing one’s cleats) (Col 3, ln 48-61 and Col 4, ln 46-65).
Howell teaches a process of thermal transfer printing, comprising:
preparing an article for sublimation and mounting the article within a tray (Figure 1);
positioning a printed film comprising an image over the article and tray to form a tray assembly and positioning the tray assembly inside a vacuum-sublimation oven (Col 3, ln 1-12 and Col 4, ln 45- Col 5, ln 6);
selecting appropriate pressure, temperature and duration for transferring the image on the thermal retransfer sheet (Col 5, ln 29-64); and
activating the vacuum sublimation oven to transfer the image to the article at the selected pressure, temperature, and duration (Col 5, ln 29-64).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to modify the process of Weidl with applying personal patterns on both the base film and plurality of cleat members as taught by Jang, to yield the predictable result of providing a variety of aesthetic design choices.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to modify the process of preparing base plates of Weidl with the vacuum sublimation technique of Howell, a known suitable technique for providing decorative features onto an outsole as taught by Jang.
Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to modify Weidl with the steps of mounting the outsole plate within a tray; positioning a printed film comprising a graphic over the outsole plate and the tray to form a tray assembly and positioning the tray assembly inside a vacuum-sublimation oven; selecting a pressure, temperature, and duration for transferring the graphic on the printed film to the outsole plate based on each of a type of graphic on the printed film, a texture of the outsole plate, a height difference of the cleat members on the outsole plate, and a material of the outsole plate; and activating the vacuum-sublimation oven to transfer the graphic on the printed film to the outsole plate at the selected pressure, temperature, and duration such that the graphic is formed over at least a first portion of the base surface and cleat members protruding from the first portion of the base surface, thereby forming the graphics over at least a first portion of the base surface and cleat members protruding from the first portion of the base surface.
Regarding claim 2, Weidl in view of Jang and Howell teaches the process as applied to claim 1, wherein the preparing the outsole plate includes pre-heating the outsole plate (Howell, Col 3, ln 32-39).
Regarding claim 5, Weidl in view of Jang and Howell teaches the process as applied to claim 1, wherein the selected temperature is in a range of 120 to 240°C and the selected duration is between 15 seconds to 5 minutes (Howell, Col 3, ln 40-44).
In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists (MPEP 2144.05(I)). Given that the claimed temperature range and duration range overlap with the prior art temperature range and duration range, the claimed temperature range of 110 to 140 degrees Celsius and claimed duration range of 300 to 500 seconds would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 6, Weidl in view of Jang and Howell teaches the process as applied to claim 1, wherein selecting the pressure, temperature, and duration based on the dye, film and article (Howell, Col 3, ln 40-44).
Weidl in view of Jang and Howell does not explicitly teach selecting a higher temperature and longer duration when the graphic is a solid color graphic as opposed to a patterned graphic and selecting a lower temperature and shorter duration when the graphic is the patterned graphic as opposed to the solid graphic color.
However, when performing the process of Weidl in view of Jang and Howell, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to select suitable pressure, temperature, and duration for properly transferring the graphic to the article, as suggested by Howell. Therefore, it would have been obvious to select a higher temperature and longer duration when the graphic is a solid color graphic as opposed to a patterned graphic and selecting a lower temperature and shorter duration when the graphic is the patterned graphic as opposed to the solid graphic color.
Regarding claim 7, Weidl in view of Jang and Howell teaches the process as applied to claim 1, wherein selecting the pressure, temperature, and duration based on the dye, film and article (Howell, Col 3, ln 40-44).
Weidl in view of Jang and Howell does not explicitly teach selecting the pressure, temperature, and duration based on the texture of the outsole plate includes selecting a longer duration when the outsole plate is matted as opposed to glossy and selecting a shorter duration when the outsole plate is glossy to opposed to matted.
However, performing the process of Weidl in view of Jang and Howell, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to select suitable parameters for properly transferring the graphic to the article, as suggested by Howell. Therefore, it would have been obvious to select a suitable pressure, temperature, and duration based on the texture of the outsole plate, thereby selecting a longer duration when the outsole plate is matted as opposed to glossy and selecting a shorter duration when the outsole plate is glossy to opposed to matted.
Regarding claim 8, Weidl in view of Jang and Howell teaches the process as applied to claim 1, wherein selecting the pressure, temperature, and duration based on the dye, film and article (Howell, Col 3, ln 40-44).
Weidl in view of Jang and Howell does not explicitly teach selecting the pressure, temperature, and duration based on the height difference of the cleat members on the outsole plate includes selecting one or more of a higher temperature and longer duration as a vertical height difference between two or more cleat members of the plurality of cleat members on the outsole plate increases.
However, performing the process of Weidl in view of Jang and Howell, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to select suitable parameters for properly transferring the graphic to the article, as suggested by Howell. Therefore, it would have been obvious to select a suitable pressure, temperature, and duration based on the height difference of the cleat members on the outsole plate, thereby selecting one or more of a higher temperature and longer duration as a vertical height difference between two or more cleat members of the plurality of cleat members on the outsole plate increases.
Regarding claim 9, Weidl in view of Jang and Howell teaches the process as applied to claim 1, wherein selecting the pressure, temperature, and duration based on the dye, film and article (Howell, Col 3, ln 40-44).
Weidl in view of Jang and Howell does not explicitly teach selecting the pressure, temperature, and duration based on the material of the outsole plate includes selecting the one or more of a higher temperature and longer duration as a harness of the material of the outsole plate decreases.
However, performing the process of Weidl in view of Jang and Howell, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to select suitable parameters for properly transferring the graphic to the article, as suggested by Howell. Therefore, it would have been obvious to select a suitable pressure, temperature, and duration based on the height difference of the cleat members on the outsole plate, thereby selecting the pressure, temperature, and duration based on the material of the outsole plate includes selecting the one or more of a higher temperature and longer duration as a harness of the material of the outsole plate decreases.
Regarding claim 12, Weidl in view of Jang and Howell teaches the process as applied to claim 1, wherein the plurality of cleat members includes at least two cleat members having a different shape (Weidl, Col 9, ln 40-50 and Figure 7).
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over
Weidl (US 12,089,699) in view of Jang (US 12,048,357) and Howell (US 8,274,537), as applied to claim 1, in further view of Figur (PG-PUB 2017/0347745).
Regarding claim 4, Weidl in view of Jang and Howell teaches the process as applied to claim 1.
Weidl in view of Jang and Howell does not teach masking the outsole plate by covering a second portion of the base surface and cleat members protruding from the second portion of the base surface with a covering element, prior to mounting.
Figur teaches a process of preparing footwear comprising printing for use substances which coat the continuous thread, the upper, and/or the overlay or otherwise mask the visual properties of the continuous thread, the upper, and/or the overlay, so that the printing makes those materials look more alike or less alike in non-color and/or color attributes [0133]. Figur teaches the printing process may impart color only to the continuous thread, e.g., by printing only the line of stitching, by using masking to prevent printing on the substrate 102 apart from the continuous thread, or by using combinations of printing inks or dyes and materials such that only the continuous thread is affected by the printing process [0134].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to improve the process of Weidl in view of Jang and Howell with the masking technique of Figur to cover a portion of the base surface and cleat members with a covering element for the benefit of applying graphics in only desired areas.
While Weidl in view of Jang, Howell, and Figur does not explicitly teach masking the outsole plate prior to mounting, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to apply the covering element prior to sublimation.
Rearranging the steps of the prior art, absent any new or unexpected results, would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art. Accordingly, rearranging the timing of the masking step of Weidl in view of Jang, Howell, and Figur prior to mounting would have yielded the predictable result of covering areas where applying pattern is undesired and presented no new or unexpected results, and therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Claim(s) 10 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Weidl (US 12,089,699) in view of Jang (US 12,048,357) and Howell (US 8,274,537), as applied to claim 1, in further view of Tolvanen (WO 2015/166137).
Regarding claim 10 and 11, Weidl in view of Jang and Howell teaches the process as applied to claim 1, wherein at least two cleat members have a different height (Weidl, Figure 6A and 6B; Col 6, ln 12-35; Col 10, ln 1-35; and Col 11, ln 61-66).
Weidl in view of Jang and Howell does not teach cleat members of the plurality of cleat members have a vertical height in a range of 40- 80 mm.
Tolvanen teaches a sport shoes comprising cleats (Figure 1 and 2), wherein the cleats have different heights from the sole (Page 2, ln 1-9), wherein the cleats may comprise a height of 0.1-40 mm (Page 7, ln 1-23).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to modify the process of Weidl in view of Jang and Howell with the cleat dimensions of Tolvanen, a known suitable height range for cleats, to yield the predictable result of providing a suitable sports shoes.
In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists (MPEP 2144.05(I)).
Claim(s) 13-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Weidl (US 12,089,699) in view of Jang (US 12,048,357), Howell (US 8,274,537), and Verrat-Debailleul (US 9,689,194).
Regarding claim 13, Weidl teaches a process of manufacturing a baseplate comprising a plurality of cleats for athletic shoes (Figures 6A and 6B, 7, and 8),
wherein baseplate may be supplied plain-colored or multi-colored and may be provided with design elements, for example by means of coating, flocking, laminating, sprinkling, bonding, and/or printing (Col 8, ln 37-47) to provide customization of the baseplate (Col 8, ln 15-36).
Weidl does not teach:
preparing an outsole plate for the outsole for graphic sublimation, the outsole plate comprising a plurality of cleat members that protrude outwardly from a base surface of the outsole plate, and mounting the outsole plate within a tray;
positioning a printed film comprising a graphic over the base plate and plurality of cleat members of the outsole plate and the tray to form a tray assembly and positioning the tray assembly inside a vacuum-sublimation oven;
selecting a temperature from within a range of 110 to 140 degrees Celsius and a cycle time from within a range of 300 to 500 seconds for transferring the graphic on the printed film to the outsole plate; and
activating the vacuum-sublimation oven to transfer the graphic on the printed film to the outsole plate at the selected temperature and cycle time, and at a pressure of -0.1 MPa such that the graphic is formed over at least a first portion of the base surface and the plurality of cleat members.
While Weidl does not explicitly teach providing a pattern on both the base surface and plurality of cleat members, mere aesthetic design changes are obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art (MPEP 2144.04(I)). Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to provide personalization of both the base plate and plurality of cleat members of Weidl for the purpose of aesthetic design and personalization.
Jang teaches a process of manufacturing an outsole of a three-dimensional shape (Claim 1), comprising:
printing a pattern on a sheet formed of a thermoplastic resin using a dye (Col 4, ln 26-45);
placing the sheet on the outsole and softening the sheet using a heating device (Col 4, ln 66- Col 5, ln 8)
vacuum-suctioning the outsole of the softened sheet which includes primarily vacuum-suctioning the outsole of the softened sheet and secondarily vacuum suctioning the outsole of the softened sheet (Col 5, ln 4-29); and
fixing a pattern on the outsole at a high temperature with the dye permeated to micropores on a surface of the outsole,
wherein the primarily vacuum-suctioning the outsole of the softened sheet includes slowly attaching the softened sheet to the surface of the outsole with a low vacuum pressure (Col 5, ln 3-24), and
wherein in the secondarily vacuum-suctioning the outsole of the softened sheet, the dye is permeated into the micropores inside the surface of the outsole with a high vacuum pressure (Col 5, ln 30-35).
Jang teaches providing a desired pattern in three-dimension for the purpose of providing a stylish appearance (e.g., personalizing one’s cleats) (Col 3, ln 48-61 and Col 4, ln 46-65).
Howell teaches a process of thermal transfer printing, comprising:
preparing an article for sublimation and mounting the article within a tray (Figure 1);
positioning a printed film comprising a graphic over the outsole plate and the tray to form a tray assembly and positioning the tray assembly inside a vacuum-sublimation oven (Figure 4 and Col 5, ln 1-5);
selecting a temperature from within a range of 110 to 140 degrees Celsius and a cycle time from within a range of 300 to 500 seconds for transferring the graphic on the printed film to the outsole plate (Col 3, ln 1-44 and Col 4, ln 45- Col 5, ln 6; Col 5, ln 29-64); and
activating the vacuum sublimation oven to transfer the image to the article at the selected pressure, temperature, and duration (Figure 5 and 6 and Col 5, ln 29-64),
wherein the vacuum is suitably at a level in the range 30 to 85 kPa (e.g. about 50kPa) below atmospheric (Col 3, ln 26-30).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to modify the process of preparing base plates of Weidl with the vacuum sublimation technique of Howell, a known suitable technique for providing decorative features onto an outsole as taught by Jang.
Verrat-Debailleul teaches a process of manufacturing a glazing unit comprising pressing a film against at least a portion of a flexible part of the profiled strip of the glazing unit which protrudes outwards from the edge of the glazing element by applying a punch against the film, thereby adhering a decorative coating to at least a portion of the flexible part of the profiled strip. Verrat-Debailleul teaches the pressing operation may then be carried 60 out at a temperature between 80 and 150° C., or even
between 100 and 130° C., for example for a period between 1 and 20 seconds, or even between 2 and 5 seconds and, for example, at a pressure between 0.1 and 10 MPa, or even between 0.2 and 2 MPa (Col 9, Ln 54-65).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to modify the process of Weidl in view of Jang and Howell with the pressure of 0.1 MPa as taught by Verrat-Debailleul, a known suitable pressure for applying a decorative coating to an article.
In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists (MPEP 2144.05(I)).
Regarding claim 14, Weidl in view of Jang, Howell, and Verrat-Debailleul teaches the process as applied to claim 13, wherein selecting the pressure, temperature, and duration based on the dye, film and article (Howell, Col 3, ln 40-44).
Weidl in view of Jang, Howell, and Verrat-Debailleul does not explicitly teach selecting a higher temperature and longer cycle time for a solid color graphic and selecting a lower temperature and shorter cycle time for a patterned graphic.
However, when performing the process of Weidl in view of Jang, Howell, and Verrat-Debailleul, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to select suitable pressure, temperature, and duration for properly transferring the graphic to the article, as suggested by Howell. Therefore, it would have been obvious to select appropriate temperature and cycle times for solid and patterned graphics, thereby selecting a higher temperature and longer cycle time for a solid color graphic and selecting a lower temperature and shorter cycle time for a patterned graphic.
Regarding claim 15, Weidl in view of Jang, Howell, and Verrat-Debailleul teaches the process as applied to claim 13, wherein selecting the pressure, temperature, and duration based on the dye, film and article (Howell, Col 3, ln 40-44).
Weidl in view of Jang, Howell, and Verrat-Debailleul does not explicitly teach selecting a longer cycle time and first temperature within the range when the outsole plate is matted and selecting a shorter cycle time and the first temperature when the outsole plate is glossy.
However, when performing the process of Weidl in view of Jang, Howell, and Verrat-Debailleul, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to select suitable pressure, temperature, and duration for properly transferring the graphic to the article, as suggested by Howell. Therefore, it would have been obvious to select appropriate cycle times and temperature for matted or glossy outplates, thereby selecting a longer cycle time and first temperature within the range when the outsole plate is matted and selecting a shorter cycle time and the first temperature when the outsole plate is glossy.
Regarding claim 16, Weidl in view of Jang, Howell, and Verrat-Debailleul teaches the process as applied to claim 13, wherein selecting the pressure, temperature, and duration based on the dye, film and article (Howell, Col 3, ln 40-44).
Weidl in view of Jang, Howell, and Verrat-Debailleul does not explicitly teach selecting one or more of a higher temperature and longer cycle time as a vertical height difference between two or more cleat members of the plurality of cleat members on the outsole plate increases.
However, when performing the process of Weidl in view of Jang, Howell, and Verrat-Debailleul, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to select suitable pressure, temperature, and duration for properly transferring the graphic to the article, as suggested by Howell. Therefore, it would have been obvious to select appropriate cycle times and temperature for every outsole plate, thereby selecting one or more of a higher temperature and longer cycle time as a vertical height difference between two or more cleat members of the plurality of cleat members on the outsole plate increases.
Regarding claim 17, Weidl in view of Jang, Howell, and Verrat-Debailleul teaches the process as applied to claim 13, wherein selecting the pressure, temperature, and duration based on the dye, film and article (Howell, Col 3, ln 40-44).
Weidl in view of Jang, Howell, and Verrat-Debailleul does not explicitly teach selecting the temperature and cycle time includes selecting one or more of a higher temperature and longer cycle time as a hardness of a material of the outsole plate decreases.
However, when performing the process of Weidl in view of Jang, Howell, and Verrat-Debailleul, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to select suitable pressure, temperature, and duration for properly transferring the graphic to the article, as suggested by Howell. Therefore, it would have been obvious to select appropriate cycle times and temperature for the outsole plate according to the material used, as suggested by Howell, thereby selecting the temperature and cycle time includes selecting one or more of a higher temperature and longer cycle time as a harness of a material of the outsole plate decreases.
. Claim(s) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Weidl (US 12,089,699) in view of Jang (US 12,048,357), Howell (US 8,274,537), and Verrat-Debailleul (US 9,689,194), as applied to claim 13, in further view of Tolvanen (WO 2015/166137).
Regarding claim 18, Weidl in view of Jang and Howell teaches the process as applied to claim 13, wherein at least two cleat members have a different height (Weidl, Figure 6A and 6B; Col 6, ln 12-35; Col 10, ln 1-35; and Col 11, ln 61-66).
Weidl in view of Jang and Howell does not teach cleat members of the plurality of cleat members have a vertical height in a range of 40- 80 mm.
Tolvanen teaches a sport shoes comprising cleats (Figure 1 and 2), wherein the cleats have different heights from the sole (Page 2, ln 1-9), wherein the cleats may comprise a height of 0.1-40 mm (Page 7, ln 1-23).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to modify the process of Weidl in view of Jang and Howell with the cleat dimensions of Tolvanen, a known suitable height range for cleats, to yield the predictable result of providing a suitable sports shoes.
In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists (MPEP 2144.05(I)).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3 is allowed for reasons previously presented.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment 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 HANA C PAGE whose telephone number is (571)272-1578. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 9:00-5:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Phillip Tucker can be reached at 5712721095. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HANA C PAGE/Examiner, Art Unit 1745
/PHILIP C TUCKER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1745
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