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 Amendment
The amendment filed on 12/22/2025 has been entered. Claims 1-7 are currently pending in the application. Any rejection(s) and/or objection(s) made in the previous Office action and not repeated below, are hereby withdrawn due to Applicant's amendments and/or arguments in the response filed on 12/22/2025.
Claim Objections
Claim 7 is objected to because of the following informalities:
The status identifier of claim 7 should be "Original" as claim 7 does not appear to be amended.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-7 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "each partial-length knit course", which renders the claim indefinite. The claim has set forth a plurality of partial-length knit courses. It is unclear whether the limitation is referring to the previously defined plurality of partial-length knit courses or different. Therefore, the metes and bounds of the claim are unclear and cannot be ascertained. This rejection has been set forth in the previous Office action mailed 09/22/2025. For examination purposes, the limitation has been construed to be each of the partial-length knit courses. Claim 1 recites the limitation "two knit courses", which renders the claim indefinite. The claim has set forth "a plurality knit courses" and "a plurality of partial-length knit courses". A partial-length knit course is also a knit course. It is unclear which two knit courses are being referred to. Therefore, the metes and bounds of the claim are unclear and cannot be ascertained. This rejection has been set forth in the previous Office action mailed 09/22/2025. For examination purposes, the examiner has interpreted that, the limitation has been construed to be two knit courses of the plurality of full-length knit courses.
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 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.
Claims 1-2 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hall (US 2,222,946 A).
Regarding claim 1, Hall discloses a lower-body garment (a skirt; fig. 4; col. 4, ll. 18-25; the claim) divisible between a front half (a skirt having a front half; fig. 4) and a back half (a skirt having a back half; fig. 4) comprising:
a one-piece flat knit textile (a single piece knitted on a flat knitting machine; fig. 1; col. 2, ll. 24-46) having an upper edge (waist edge 28; fig. 4; col. 4, ll. 18-25) and a lower edge (selvage edge 25; fig. 4; col. 4, ll. 18-25) configured to form at least a front torso portion (a skirt having a front torso portion; fig. 4) and a back torso portion (a skirt having a back torso portion; fig. 4), the one-piece flat knit textile comprising:
a plurality of full-length knit courses (full courses 23; fig. 2; col. 65-69) continuously extending from the upper edge to the lower edge (fig. 2; col. 3, ll. 65-69), and a plurality of partial-length knit courses (short courses 24; fig. 2, col. 3, ll. 65-69) partially extending between the upper edge and the lower edge (fig. 2, col. 3, ll. 65-69),
wherein the plurality of partial-length knit courses are intermittently positioned among the plurality of full-length knit courses with each partial-length knit course positioned between two full-length knit courses that continuously extend from the upper edge to the lower edge (fig. 2, col. 3, ll. 65-69; col. 4, ll. 26-32); and
wherein each of the plurality of partial-length knit courses extends from the lower edge (fig. 2; the claim).
Hall does not explicitly disclose wherein a number of knit stitches forming the plurality of partial-length knit courses differ between the front half and the back half. However, Hall does disclose that the number and distribution of the short and long courses may be varied to give a desired shaping of the skirt (col. 3, ll. 65-74; col. 4, ll. 10-17, 26-32) and Fig. 5 shows the skirt being varied in the front half and the back half so as to be fitted over the hips (fig. 5; col. 4, ll. 38-39). Further, one of ordinary skill of the art would recognize that a lower rear area of a human trunk is anatomically more arcuate than a lower front area of the human trunk. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have configured the skirt as disclosed by Hall, with wherein a first number of knit stitches forming the plurality of partial-length knit courses in the front half of the skirt is less than a second number of knit stitches forming the plurality of partial-length knit courses in the back half of the skirt, in order to provide the skirt with a back half being more arcuate than the front half, thereby conforming to the anatomical feature of a human body for a comfort fit. By this configuration, a number of knit stitches forming the plurality of partial-length knit courses would differ between the front half and the back half of the torso portion. Such a configuration is within the level of one of ordinary skill of the art.
Regarding claim 2, Hall discloses the lower-body garment of claim 1. As discussed for claim 1, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have configured the one-piece knit textile as disclosed by Hall, with wherein the plurality of partial-length knit courses includes a first number of knit stitches forming partial-length knit courses on the front torso portion and a second number of knit stitches forming partial-length knit courses on the back torso portion, the first number of knit stitches less than the second number of knit stitches thereby conforming to the anatomical feature of a human body for a comfort fit. Such a configuration is within the level of one of ordinary skill of the art.
Regarding claim 6, Hall discloses the lower-body garment of claim 1, and further discloses wherein the one-piece flat knit textile is a weft knit textile (a single piece knitted on a flat knitting machine; figs. 1, 6; col. 2, ll. 24-46).
Status of Claims
Claims 3-5 and 7 are currently free of prior art rejections.
As to claims 3-5, the lower body garment of Hall is a skirt, and a skirt does not have a first leg band defining a first leg opening edge, and a second leg band defining a second leg opening edge.
As to claim 7, the lower body garment of Hall is a skirt, and a skirt does not need a crotch gusset.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments with respect to the amended claims have been fully considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection as discussed supra.
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.
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/AIYING ZHAO/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3732
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