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 § 102
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 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 3-8, 10, and 39-40 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Holley, Jr. (US 4588084 A; hereinafter Holley).
Regarding claims 1, 3-6, and 39-40, Holley discloses an enclosed bottle carrier for returnable bottles and a blank for making comprising a plurality of panels extending at least partially around an interior of the carton, the plurality of panels comprising a top panel (42), a bottom panel (1), a front panel (6/7), and a back panel (24/25); a plurality of end flaps (2/3/10/11/14/15/28/29/32/33) foldably connected to a respective panel of the plurality of panels of the carton and in at least partially overlapping relation to form at least one closed end of the carton (see Figures 1-3); and handle features (46) at least partially forming a handle of the reinforced carton; and a reinforcement construct (48) in at least partial face-to-face contact with a portion of the carton, the reinforcement construct comprising a central panel (43); and handle features at least partially forming the handle of the reinforced carton, the handle features of the reinforcement construct comprising at least one handle reinforcement flap (49) foldably connected to the central panel, the handle features of the carton are aligned with the handle features of the reinforcement construct; wherein the handle features of the carton comprise a handle grip (47) portion at least partially defined in the top panel and the handle features of the reinforcement construct comprise a handle grip portion at least partially defined in the central panel (see Fig. 1), the handle grip portion in the top panel of the carton overlapping the handle grip portion in the central panel of the reinforcement construct; wherein a plurality of lines of weakening (70/72) extend from the handle grip portion in the top panel of the carton to define at least one handle end portion (65b/67b) in the carton; wherein the top panel comprises an attachment feature (75) at least partially separable from the top panel and foldably (74/76) connected to the at least one handle end portion in the carton.
Regarding claims 7-8, Holley discloses a reinforced carrier wherein the at least one handle end portion of the carton is at least partially separable from the remainder of the top panel (Col 2 lines 56-68).
Regarding claim 10, Holley discloses a reinforced carrier further comprising a dispenser, the dispenser comprising a dispenser panel of the carton at least partially separable (via tear lines 86/90) from the remainder thereof, the dispenser further comprising a dispenser panel of the reinforcement construct at least partially separable (via tear lines 58/59) from the remainder thereof, the dispenser panel of the carton
in at least partial face-to-face contact with the dispenser panel of the reinforcement construct (see Figures 7-9).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9 and 11-13 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 14, 16-25, and 41-42 are allowed.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Pages 13-16, filed 11/06/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-6, 10-11, 14-18, and 22-23 under USC 102(a)(1)—in view of Eckermann 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 USC 102(a)(1)--Holley.
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 CHRISTOPHER R DEMEREE whose telephone number is (571)270-1982. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, NATHAN J NEWHOUSE can be reached at (571)272-4544. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/CHRISTOPHER R DEMEREE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3734