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 § 103
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) 1-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tiram (US 2014/0020703) in view of Alex (US 8,434,500).
Tiram discloses a self-securing lace front hairpiece for persons with alopecia or thinning or balding edges comprising: hairpiece hair being configured to extend downwardly from and cover the frontal scalp region of a person with alopecia or thinning or balding edges (30, 30’’’); an attachment arrangement being configured to detachably connect said hairpiece (32’’’) hair to the frontal scalp region of a person; said attachment arrangement comprising a forehead piece comprising lace or similar sheer material and a securing strap (60, 62) that together are configured to encircle the head of a person; said securing strap being configured to be placed against a rear portion of the head of a person within or under a person’s natural hair (see Figures 1, 2, and 11-13); an adhesive strip (94) being disposed on an upper interior portion of said forehead piece and being configured to be disposed adjacent the front edges of a receding or thinning hairline of a person (paragraph 88) said securing strap and said adhesive strip are together configured to secure said attachment arrangement to the head of a person to permit installation of said hairpiece hair at the front edges of a receding or thinning hairline of a person by a stylist without the need for assistance from the person or another stylist to temporarily hold the self-securing lace front hairpiece in place (see Figures 1, 2, and 11-13).
Tiram does not disclose a removable cover layer being disposed on the adhesive strip and being configured to be removed to expose adhesive material of the adhesive strip. Alex teaches an adhesive having a removeable cover layer being disposed on the adhesive strip to protect the adhesive before user (col. 6, lines 1-10). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have the adhesive of Tiram be covered by a removable strip as taught by Alex to protect the adhesive prior to user.
Regarding claim 2, Tiram further discloses the forehead piece comprises a left end portion and a right end portion configured to be disposed adjacent a left ear and a right ear of a person (see Figure 2); and said securing strap comprises a left strap end attached to said left end portion and a right strap end attached to said right end portion (60, 62) (see figure 11). Regarding claim 3, Tiram further discloses the securing strap comprises a left strap portion extending from said left strap end and a right strap portion extending from said right strap end; and said left strap portion comprises a left connecting end and said right strap portion comprises a right connecting end configured to detachably connect to said left connecting end (64, 66) (see Figure 12; paragraph 77). Regarding claim 4, Tiram further discloses the left connecting end comprises a hook material and said right connecting end comprises a loop material configured to mesh with said hook material in a hook-and-loop connection (paragraph 77). Regarding claim 5, Tiram further discloses the hook material and said loop material are sufficiently long to permit overlapping connection of different lengths and thereby permit adjustment of the length of said securing strap (paragraph 77). Regarding claim 6, Tiram further discloses the securing strap comprises a resilient elastic material to permit said securing strap to be stretched around the head of a person and then rebound to tighten onto the head of a person (paragraph 78). Regarding claim 7, Tiram further discloses the securing strap comprises a resilient elastic material to permit said securing strap to be stretched around the head of a person and then rebound to tighten onto the head of a person (paragraph 78). Regarding claim 8, Tiram as modified by Alex further discloses a method of installing the self-securing lace front hairpiece according to claim for persons with alopecia or thinning or balding edges by a stylist comprising the steps of: removing said removable cover layer from said adhesive strip exposing adhesive material of said adhesive strip; placing said adhesive strip and said forehead piece adjacent the front edges of a receding or thinning hairline of a person; adhering said adhesive strip adjacent the front edges of the receding or thinning hairline of the person; placing said securing strap against a rear portion of the head of the person within or under the person’s natural hair; securing said attachment arrangement with said securing strap and said adhesive strip to the head of the person and then installing said hairpiece hair at the front edges of a receding or thinning hairline of the person without the 15 need for assistance from the person or another stylist to temporarily hold the self-securing lace front hairpiece in place; and positioning said hairpiece hair extending downwardly from said forehead piece to cover and fill in exposed areas of the person’s forehead and styling said hairpiece hair to present a natural appearance around the forehead and face of the person (Tiram; paragraphs 82-86). Regarding claim 9, Tiram further discloses the forehead piece comprises a left end portion and a right end portion configured to be disposed adjacent a left ear and a right ear of a person; said securing strap comprises a left strap (60) end attached to said left end portion and a right strap end attached to said right end portion (62); said securing strap comprises a left strap portion extending from said left strap end and a right strap portion extending from said right strap end; said left strap portion comprises a left connecting end (64) and said right strap portion comprises a right connecting end (66) configured to detachably connect to said left connecting end; said left connecting end comprises a hook material and said right connecting end comprises a loop material (paragraph 77) configured to mesh with said hook material in a hook-and-loop connection; said step of placing said securing strap comprises placing said left strap portion on a left side of a person’s head and placing said right strap portion on a right side of a person’s head and then connecting said left connecting end and said right connecting end in a hook-and-loop connection; and said method further comprises: disconnecting said left connecting end and said right connecting end; adjusting the placement of said securing strap and said forehead piece; and reconnecting said left connecting end and said right connecting end upon said securing strap and said forehead piece being in a desired position (paragraphs 82-86).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RACHEL RUNNING STEITZ whose telephone number is (571)272-1917. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm EST.
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/RACHEL R STEITZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3772
10/22/2025