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 .
In light of the latest filed pre-appeal request on 02/04/2026 and conducted interview on 02/25/2026, the persecution has been re-opened and a new Non-Final action issued as explained below.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 5-11, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Martin et al. (U.S. Pub No. 2008/0314787).
Regarding claim 1: Martin discloses a package comprising:
a plastic bag (Figs. 1-3; via bag 100) delimiting a seat (Fig. 3; via portion 103) sealingly housing a product (via the wrapped product), the plastic bag having
one or more plastic film walls (via 114/115), and
at least one connecting zone (Fig. 3; via marginal areas 107) comprising at least one sealing band connecting together mutually facing wall portions of said plastic film walls (via area 107 “forms the seals after the package is formed”),
a tab (Fig. 9; via region 420 with sealed member 450) coupled with the at least one connecting zone (via zone of 420) of the plastic bag, wherein the tab includes an easy opening feature at one or more of its perimeter edges (via ear strips 421/422); the tab having a thickness greater than a thickness of the one or more plastic film walls, see for example (Fig. 9; via the shown tab section 420 comprises of two outer layers and middle napkin section 450; inherently the thickness of both layers and element 450 will be larger than the thickness of a single bag layer).
Martin may not suggest the plastic bag with a further easy opening feature and its specific location in respect to the package, in particular a further notch or a further cut or a further weakening line; wherein the further easy opening feature is formed in the plastic material of the plastic bag and extends from a peripheral border of the plastic bag, and wherein the further easy opening feature is either adjacent to the connecting zone of the plastic bag or partly crosses the connecting zone, in particular partly or completely crosses at least one sealing band of the plastic bag. However, as Martin shows a second weakening line as an easy opening feature (Fig. 9; via 422), positioning such weakening feature in different location and/or orientation in respect to the formed package would be nothing more than a design choice to be made as a matter of arranging parts.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention, to have modified Martin’s weakening feature, to be re-positioned in different orientation and area in respect to the final formed package, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70.
Regarding claim 2: wherein the at least one connecting zone (via 107) of the plastic bag comprises mutually facing ends of the plastic film walls (Fig. 3; via mutually facing of 107) connected by said at least one sealing band (via 107 “forms the seals after the package is formed”);
wherein the tab (Fig. 9; via 420/411) is a body distinct from the plastic bag; and
wherein the easy opening feature (via 421) is a notch, a cut, or a weakening line extending across a portion of the tab (via weak line 421) and optionally oriented towards said seat.
Regarding claim 5: wherein the tab comprises a first and second flap, adjacent to each other, and wherein said easy opening feature, in particular said notch or cut or weakening line, extends in correspondence of a tab intermediate region between the first and second flaps (Fig. 9; via weakening line 421 across tab 420/450); wherein said first and second flaps are operable by a user to move from a substantially coplanar condition to an angularly offset and/or teared apart condition, wherein moving the first and second flaps to the angularly offset and/or teared apart condition causes propagation of a fracture line from the easy opening feature across the tab and then formation of a rupture across the plastic bag connecting zone (via by breaking the weakening line 421 both upper and lower flaps gets a apart and gain access to the interior of the bag).
Regarding claim 6: wherein the plastic bag is made from a plastic sheet bent along a bend zone forming two mutually facing plastic film walls having first ends connected at the bend zone and second ends (Fig. 9; via the connecting region at the bottom of the bag by 411), opposed to the first ends and distal with respect to the bend zone, with said product located in a volume between said first ends and said second ends of the mutually facing plastic film walls, optionally wherein the bend zone is in the form of a fold line (via wrapped napkin).
Regarding claim 7: wherein the at least one connecting zone is a connecting zone including:
mutually facing wall portions of the second ends of the plastic film walls of the same single plastic film (via both facing walls of the bag 400),
said at least one sealing band (via 411/418) connecting together the mutually facing wall portions of the second ends of the plastic film walls, distally with respect to the bend zone (411);
and wherein the at least one sealing band extends along or adjacent to or parallel to a peripheral border of the opposed plastic film walls, and the easy opening feature is oriented transversally to the at least one sealing band (via easy opening feature 421/422 positioned transverse to the sealing band 411).
Regarding claim 8: wherein the at least one connecting zone comprises:
a first connecting zone (via zone between the upper seal 411 and 418) including mutually facing wall portions of the first ends of the plastic film walls, and said at least one sealing band extending at a distance from said bend zone (away from bend zone lower seal 411), optionally in a direction parallel to said bend zone,
a second connecting zone (via zone between lower 411 and/or 418) including mutually facing wall portions of second ends of the plastic walls, and a respective further sealing band (via sealing 418); and wherein the at least one sealing band extends along or adjacent to or parallel to a peripheral border of the opposed plastic film walls, and the easy opening feature is oriented transversally to the at least one sealing band (via opening feature 422 oriented transversally to 41/411).
Regarding claim 9: wherein:
each of the wall portions presents an inner surface, facing the inner surface of the opposed wall portion, and an opposed outer surface (via faced inner surfaces of the bag’s walls),
the tab (via region 420/411) is a thin strip with opposed prevalent surfaces,
the tab is coupled with the connecting zone of the plastic bag such that:
one of the tab prevalent surfaces intimately adheres to one of the inner surfaces of the wall portions (via sealing mechanism 411 of the tab portion 420).
Regarding claim 10: the tab is sandwiched between the inner surfaces of the wall portions of the plastic bag; or
The tab is fixed, in particular adhesively or heat bonded, to the outer surface one or both of the wall portions, see for example (Fig. 9; via sealing upper tab portion 411 and/or sealing 450 in region 420).
Regarding claim 11: the tab is sandwiched between the inner surfaces of the wall portions of the plastic bag and that least one sealing band comprises a first sealing band and a second sealing band positioned at the connecting zone and located at a distance the one from the other (via , 450 sealed in wall of 420) with the tab being, on its turn, positioned between the first sealing band and the second sealing band (via 450 sealed between 411/418) in particular wherein the first and second sealing bands are parallel to each other (via 411/418 are parallel).
Regarding claim 20: wherein the at least one sealing band has a length in a direction of prevalent development and has a width measured perpendicular to the direction of prevalent development which is significantly smaller than the length (via the length and width of sealing band section 411); further wherein the easy opening feature present in the tab, in particular the notch or weakening line, extends above at least 25%, or at least 50%, of the width of the sealing band (Fig. 9; via the easy opening 421 in respect to the tab section 420/450).
Claim(s) 3-4 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Martin et al. (U.S. Pub No. 2008/0314787).
Regarding claim 3: Martin discloses that:
the tab is made, in particular entirely made, of:
o paper, or
o paperboard, or
o non-heat-shrinkable plastic material (via “420/411 is made out of “flexible film”).
Martin does not disclose the exact tab thickness to be between 35 – 400 µm. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention, to have modified Martin’s tab thickness to be between 35- 400 µm, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable range involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 4: Martin may not suggest the specific of having the plastic bag is made of a heat-shrinkable plastic film showing a free shrinking value at 120 °C (value measured in accordance with ASTM D2732, in oil) in the range from 2% to 80%, optionally from 5% to 60%, in particular from 10% to 40%, in both longitudinal and transverse directions; and the bag plastic film has thickness comprised between 10 and 60 µm, optionally between 15 and 45 µm, more optionally between 20 and 35 µm. However, Martin is using and forming a plastic bag, therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention, to have modified Martin’s bag to be made out of a heat-shrinkable plastic film showing a free shrinking value at 120 °C and in the range from 2% to 80%, optionally from 5% to 60%, in particular from 10% to 40%, in both longitudinal and transverse directions; and the bag plastic film has thickness comprised between 10 and 60 µm, optionally between 15 and 45 µm, more optionally between 20 and 35 µm, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable value/range involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 19: Martin does not suggest the plastic bag to be a vacuumized bag wherein inner surfaces of the film wall portions adhere to the product. However, the office takes an official notice that a use of vacuumized bag for film wall portions adhere to the product, is very old and known in the art.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention, to have modified Martin’s bag to be a vacuumized bag, as a matter of engineering design choice to be made, in order to firmly secure the packed products in place.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 23-28 allowed for the same reasons provided in the conducted interview on Feb. 25th., 2026.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see page 2, filed on 02/04/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 under 103 rejection have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Martin et al. (U.S. Pub No. 2008/0314787).
As set forth above and as was explained in the latest conducted interview on Feb. 25th., 2026 the Office even though believes that applicant’s made arguments were clear addressed in record and identified by the applied art of Martin ‘787, further clarifications have been made herewith.
The Office maintains that as it is very clearly shown by the applied art ‘787, the tab having a thickness greater than a thickness of the one or more plastic film walls, see for example (Fig. 9; via the shown tab section 420 content of two outer layers and middle napkin section 450; inherently the combination and thickness of both layers and element 450 will be larger than the thickness of a single bag layer).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAMEH TAWFIK whose telephone number is (571)272-4470. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri. 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM.
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/SAMEH TAWFIK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3731