DETAILED ACTION
Status of Application
Applicant’s arguments filed on February 18, 2026 have been fully considered but are moot (see below). The previous 112 rejections have been withdrawn in light of Applicant’s amendments. Claims 1 and 4 have been amended. Claims 1-15 remain pending in the application with claims 11-15 withdrawn from consideration.
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 provision of the AIA .
Specification
The amendment received on February 18, 2026 is acceptable.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claims 1-6, 9 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kristen (US RE 34,929 E).
Regarding claim 1, Kristen teaches a bag component for a product, the bag component comprising a first plastic film and a second plastic film, the first plastic film and the second plastic film being placed on top of each other (FIG. 3),
wherein a product space is delimited by mutually opposite sides of the first plastic film and the second plastic film and a boundary (FIG. 1),
wherein the first plastic film and the second plastic film are joined to each other along a first portion of the boundary (FIG. 1),
wherein the first plastic film and the second plastic film are not directly joined to each other to form a reception space for the product and/or an insert component along a second portion of the boundary (FIG. 1), and
wherein at least one of the first plastic film and the second plastic film comprises at least one recess (20) in or adjacent to the second portion of the boundary, and at a location where the first plastic film and the second plastic film are not directly joined to each other (FIG. 1) (column 3 line 13-column 6 line 10 and FIG. 1-7).
Regarding claim 2, Kristen teaches the bag component of claim 1 above, wherein the at least one recess is cup-shaped (FIG. 3, 5, 7).
Regarding claim 3, Kristen teaches the bag component of claim 1 above, wherein the at least one recess is grid-shaped (FIG. 2, 6).
Regarding claim 4, Kristen teaches the bag component of claim 1 above, wherein the at least one recess comprises a plurality of recesses in or adjacent to the second portion of the boundary (FIG. 1, 2).
Regarding claim 5, Kristen teaches the bag component of claim 4 above, wherein the plurality of recesses form a regular pattern or an irregular pattern (FIG. 2, 4, 6).
Regarding claim 6, Kristen teaches the bag component of claim 4 above, wherein all of the plurality of recesses have a same geometry (FIG. 2-7).
Regarding claim 9, Kristen teaches the bag component of claim 4 above, wherein the first plastic film and the second plastic film each comprise at least one of the plurality of recesses in or adjacent to the second portion of the boundary (column 4 lines 15-20-pattern 24 formed on the inner surface of at least one of the panels).
Regarding claim 10, Kristen teaches the bag component of claim 1 above, wherein said insert component (12) is arranged in the reception space (FIG. 1).
Claims 1, 2, 4-6, 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Reynolds (US 3,411,698 A).
Regarding claim 1, Reynolds teaches a bag component for a product, the bag component comprising a first plastic film (51) and a second plastic film (52), the first plastic film and the second plastic film being placed on top of each other (FIG. 1, 4, 5, 6, 7),
wherein a product space is delimited by mutually opposite sides of the first plastic film and the second plastic film and a boundary (FIG. 7),
wherein the first plastic film and the second plastic film are joined to each other along a first portion of the boundary (FIG. 7),
wherein the first plastic film and the second plastic film are not directly joined to each other to form a reception space for the product and/or an insert component along a second portion of the boundary (FIG. 7), and
wherein at least one of the first plastic film and the second plastic film comprises at least one recess (20, 20A) in or adjacent to the second portion of the boundary, and at a location where the first plastic film and the second plastic film are not directly joined to each other (FIG. 4, 5-5D, 7) (column 3 line 24-column 6 line 67 and FIG. 4-5D, 6, 7).
Regarding claim 2, Reynolds teaches the bag component of claim 1 above, wherein the at least one recess is cup-shaped (FIG. 4).
Regarding claim 4, Reynolds teaches the bag component of claim 1 above, wherein the at least one recess comprises a plurality of recesses in or adjacent to the second portion of the boundary (FIG. 5-5D, 7).
Regarding claim 5, Reynolds teaches the bag component of claim 4 above, wherein the plurality of recesses form a regular pattern or an irregular pattern (FIG. 4-5D, 7).
Regarding claim 6, Reynolds teaches the bag component of claim 4 above, wherein all of the plurality of recesses have a same geometry (FIG. 4-5D, 7).
Regarding claim 8, Reynolds teaches the bag component of claim 4 above, wherein adjacent recesses of the plurality of recesses are spaced form one another (FIG. 4, 5-5C, 7).
Regarding claim 9, Reynolds teaches the bag component of claim 4 above, wherein the first plastic film and the second plastic film each comprise at least one of the plurality of recesses in or adjacent to the second portion of the boundary (column 3 line 75-column 4 line 5).
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 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kristen, as applied to claim 4 above.
Regarding claim 7, Kristen teaches the bag component of claim 4 above, but fails to teach at least two of the plurality of recesses having a different geometry. However, Kristen does teach that the pattern can be regular or irregular. Additionally, one skilled in the art would expect recesses having at least two different geometries to function equivalently to prevent sticking and to create passages for evacuation.
Accordingly, one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to modify the shape of the plurality of recesses of Hanns to comprise an irregular pattern including any shape or shapes that function to prevent sticking and to create passages for evacuation, including recesses having different geometries as claimed, as a change in shape is not patentably distinct over the prior art absent persuasive evidence that the particular shape is significant or critical, produces a new and unexpected result, provides a specific advantage over other shapes, is used for a particular purpose not covered by other shapes, or solves a stated problem not solved by other shapes. See MPEP 2144.04.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed February 18, 2026 have been fully considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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 NINA KAY ATTEL whose telephone number is (571)270-3972. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7AM-4PM EST.
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/NINA K ATTEL/Examiner, Art Unit 3734
/NATHAN J NEWHOUSE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3734
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