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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II, claims 14-18, in the reply filed on June 30, 2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-13 have been withdrawn from consideration as being directed towards the non-elected invention.
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 14-18 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 14 recites the limitation “the first fiber group includes a plurality of first fibers, a difference between a longest first fiber and a shortest first fiber when 300 first fibers are randomly extracted is 3 cm or more, and an arithmetic mean length is between 10 cm and 180 cm, both inclusive, and the second fiber group includes a plurality of second fibers, and the plurality of second fibers are shorter than a tenth length when 300 first fibers are randomly extracted and arranged in order from shortest to longest; and a mixed region where the first fiber group and the second fiber group are mixed, and an exposed region where the first fiber group is exposed, wherein a length of the exposed region is between 0.8 times and 1.5 times, both inclusive, of a difference between the arithmetic mean length of the first fiber group and an arithmetic mean length of the second fiber group when 300 second fibers are randomly extracted.” At least two types of groups are claimed including a first fiber group and a second fiber group. The methodology recited for determining the arithmetic mean and relative length requires extrusion of 300 fibers. However, 300 fiber or more has not been positively recited in the claim. It is unclear if the claim requires at least 300 fibers in the first group and in the second group to be present in the fiber bundle.
It is also unclear what is meant by “the plurality of second fibers are shorter than a tenth length when 300 first fibers are randomly extracted and arranged in order from shortest to longest.” A tenth length of the short of the first fibers, the longest of the first fibers, the arithmetic mean length of the first fibers, shorter than the length of the 1/10th shortest first fibers when the first fibers are ordered from shortest to longest, shorter than the length of the 1/10th longest first fibers when the first fibers are ordered from shortest to longest, or another meaning?
The remaining claims are rejected based on their dependency on rejected claim(s).
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.
Claims 14 and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over USPN 10,945,478 to Jhin.
Regarding claims 14 and 17-18, Jhin teaches a hair assembly comprising a first bundle 101, a second bundle 102, a third bundle 103, and fourth bundle 104 of hair strands, wherein the length of each bundle is different from the others (Jhin, col. 4 lines 26-67). Jhin teaches an embodiment wherein the first length is selected from sixty inches, fifty inches, forty inches, and third inches and each subsequent length is two inches shorter than the former (Jhin, col. 5 lines 1-14). For prior art mapping the first bundle and second bundle read on the first fiber group and the third bundle and fourth bundle read on the second fiber. The difference between a longest first fiber and a shortest first fiber would be 2 inches, or 5.08 cm. The exposed region where the first fiber group is exposed would be 2 inches, or 5.08 cm. Jhin teaches other difference that are greater than or shorter than two inches will be obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the disclosure (Id., col. 5 lines 14-18). While Jhin does not explicitly teach the length of the exposed region being between 0.8 times and 1.5 times, both inclusive, of a difference between the arithmetic mean length of the first fiber group and an arithmetic mean length of the second fiber group (claim 14) and a length of the mixed region being one-thrid of less of a length of the exposed region (claim 17), this feature appears to be a design choice associated with the desired aesthetic. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to form the hair assembly of Jhin, wherein the relative difference in lengths are adjusted and optimized, such as resulting in the claimed relationship, based on the desired aesthetic and design and being within the totality of the teachings of Jhin. Additionally, the court found that matters relating to ornamentation only which have no mechanical function cannot be relied upon to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. See In re Seid, 161 F.2d 229, 73 USPQ 431 (CCPA 1947).
Regarding claim 18, there are three predictably options, (A) the number of first fibers constituting the first fiber group is smaller than a number of the second fibers constituting the second fiber group, (B) the number of first fibers constituting the first fiber group is larger than a number of the second fibers constituting the second fiber group, and (C) the number of first fibers constituting the first fiber group is the same as a number of the second fibers constituting the second fiber group. Additionally, the relative number of fibers in the bundle will predictably affect the shape of the bundle. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to form the hair assembly of Jhin, wherein the number of fibers in the longer bundles is greater than those in the short bundle, motivated by the desire to selected from a finite and predictably solution set and based on the desire aesthetic of the hair assembly.
Claims 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over USPN 10,945,478 to Jhin, as applied to claims 14 and 17-18 above, in view of WO 2006-062081 to Fujiwara.
NOTE: The English Machine Translation of WO 2006062081 is being used for prior art mapping.
Regarding claim 15-16, Jhin does not teach the first fibers being different from the second fiber in at least one of color, material, or cross-sectional shape (claim 15), specifically color (claim 16).
However, Fujiwara teaches hair exhibiting beauty brought about by satisfactory color tone variation (Fujiwara, abstract). Fujiwara teaches two or more types of hair bundle different from each other in color tone and length, in which two or more types of hair bundles are selected so as to have a color different (Id), reading on first fibers having a different color than second fibers. Fujiwara teaches the tone of the hair in the portion being different from those of other portions in order to obtain gradual change in color tones (Id., abstract, p. 1-2), reading on the first fibers having a different length than the second fibers. Fujiwara teaches the difference in length between the hair bundles being 1 cm or more (Id., p. 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to form the hair assembly of Jhin, wherein the fibers in the shorter two bundles have a different color than the fibers in the long bundles as taught by Fujiwara, motivate by the desire of using conventionally known fiber bundles predictably suitable for use in hair assemblies and by the desire to impart beauty and satisfactory color tone variation.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US Pub. No. 2009/0260649 to Sakurai teaches artificial hair having color tone with gradation appearance at a tip portion and comprising fiber are different shrinkage.
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/JENNIFER A GILLETT/Examiner, Art Unit 1789
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