DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
A Response to a Restriction Requirement was filed by applicant on 05/19/2026.
Claims 1, 6-10, 12, 13 and 15-20 are amended.
No claims are added or canceled.
Claims 1-20 are remaining in the application (see paragraph 6 below).
Election/Restrictions
In response to the restriction requirement mailed on 04/22/2026, applicant has elected the invention of Group I drawn to claims 1-14, without traverse. However, applicant has amended claims 15-20 corresponding to the prior invention of Group II so that such claims now depend from claim 1 of the invention of Group I. In view of the foregoing, the previous restriction requirement is withdrawn and the remaining claims 1-20 are hereby examined on the merits.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
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.
Claims 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor, regards as the invention.
The claimed feature “the shift lever” lacks sufficient antecedent basis as recited in the claims (independent claim 15 and subsequent dependent claims 16-20); should be – lever – .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
10. 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by D1: Needham et al. (US 12528571 B1).
D1 has a common assignee, applicant or joint inventor with the instant application. Based upon the earlier effectively filed date of the reference, it constitutes prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2). This rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) might be overcome by: (1) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(a) that the subject matter disclosed in the reference was obtained directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor of this application and is thus not prior art in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(A); (2) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(b) of a prior public disclosure under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(B) if the same invention is not being claimed; or (3) a statement pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) establishing that, not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention, the subject matter disclosed in the reference and the claimed invention were either owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person or subject to a joint research agreement.
Regarding claims 1-20, D1 discloses all claimed features, including tiller [14] for steering a marine drive (can be an outboard motor via a steering bracket [24]) relative to a marine vessel (boat or watercraft with marine drive installed for propulsion) that comprises a tiller arm [18], lever [65, 72], port and starboard arms [74], handle [73], port and starboard pivot joints [75], chassis [53], detent mechanism [84], stop mechanism [53, 98], sensor(s) [95, 127], magnet [94, 125], magnet carrier (at least Fig. 6), operational characteristics of the marine drive including reverse, neutral and forward states, and configured as recited in the claims, and as shown in Figs. 1-12, and as described in the corresponding written description of the Specification.
Conclusion
12. The prior art cited and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
The prior art references disclose various tillers for steering marine drives on marine vessels.
13. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL V VENNE whose telephone number is (571) 272-7947. The examiner can normally be reached between M-F, 7am-3:30pm Flex. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Samuel J. Morano can be reached on (571) 272-6684. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
14. If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Daniel V Venne/
Senior Examiner, Art Unit 3615
05/28/2026
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