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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 12 March 2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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) 1-3, 8, 10-12, 17, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Swenson (US 3771881) in view of Moon (KR 20220151814).
Regarding claim 1, Swenson teaches a cup (30) for retaining a cosmetic substance, the cup comprising: a cup body having a first end, a second end, and an inner sidewall forming a cup cavity adapted to receive the cosmetic substance, the cup body extending along a longitudinal axis between the first and the second ends; at least one retention member adapted to retain the cosmetic substance therein (Fig. 1), the at least one retention member (see annotated Fig. 1 below) disposed on the inner sidewall of the cup body and extending into the inner sidewall, the at least one retention member extending a width around a periphery of the inner sidewall, the at least one retention member comprising a recess extending into the inner sidewall, the recess including an upper ledge surface that cooperates with the inner sidewall to define an undercut region (see the recesses in Fig. 1 below); and at least one secondary retention member (52) disposed on the inner sidewall of the cup body and extending into the cup cavity, the secondary retention member being positioned adjacent to the at least one retention member.
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Swenson does not teach that the secondary retention member comprises an elongated notch extending in a direction generally parallel to the longitudinal axis, the elongated notch including an extension extending inwardly from the inner sidewall into the cup cavity and a notch contact face extending generally perpendicular to the extension and facing the longitudinal axis, the secondary retention member further comprising an inner surface that faces the inner sidewall, wherein the inner surface and the extension cooperate to direct the cosmetic substance into the undercut region of the at least one retention member.
Moon teaches a secondary retention member (330) that comprises an elongated notch (defined between the top legs of the T-shape and the inner wall of the cup) extending in a direction generally parallel to the longitudinal axis, the elongated notch including an extension (leg of 330 extending from inner wall) extending inwardly from the inner sidewall into the cup cavity and a notch contact face (top legs of the T-shape) extending generally perpendicular to the extension and facing the longitudinal axis, the secondary retention member further comprising an inner surface that faces the inner sidewall (Fig. 5).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have replaced the secondary retention member of Swenson with the secondary retention member of Moon, including an elongated notch extending in a direction generally parallel to the longitudinal axis, the elongated notch including an extension extending inwardly from the inner sidewall into the cup cavity and a notch contact face extending generally perpendicular to the extension and facing the longitudinal axis, the secondary retention member further comprising an inner surface that faces the inner sidewall, for the purpose of stably supporting the cosmetic substance (see second paragraph of pg. 5 in the attached translation).
It is noted that the combination of Swenson and Moon would result in the inner surface and the extension cooperate to direct the cosmetic substance into the undercut region of the at least one retention member. When the cosmetic substance is pressed down, the top of the T-shaped retention member with push a portion of the cosmetic toward the inner wall of the cup and the recesses of Swenson.
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Swenson and Moon teaches the cup of claim 1, wherein the at least one retention member includes a plurality of recesses extending inwardly into the inner sidewall in an axial pattern (Swenson, Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Swenson and Moon teaches the cup of claim 1, wherein the at least one retention member includes a plurality of recesses extending inwardly into the inner sidewall in a radial pattern about the periphery of the inner sidewall (Swenson Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Swenson and Moon teaches the cup of claim 1, wherein the extension and the notch contact face cooperate to define a channel region (Moon fig. 5).
Regarding claim 10, Swenson teaches a cosmetic product container (20) comprising: an inner body (26) having a first end and a second end and defining a container cavity; a cup (30) adapted to be at least partially disposed within the container cavity, the cup including: a cup body having a first body end, a second body end, and an inner sidewall forming a cup cavity, the cup body extending along a longitudinal axis between the first and the second ends, at least one retention member (see annotated Fig 1 above) disposed on the inner sidewall of the cup body and extending into the inner sidewall, the at least one retention member extending a width around a periphery of the inner sidewall, the at least one retention member comprising a recess extending into the inner sidewall (Fig. 1), the recess including an upper ledge surface that cooperates with the inner sidewall to define an undercut region (Fig. 1), and at least one secondary retention member (52) disposed on the inner sidewall of the cup body and extending into the cup cavity, the secondary retention member being positioned adjacent to the at least one retention member (Fig. 1); and a cosmetic substance (L) having a first end, a second end, and an elongated body therebetween, wherein at least a portion of the elongated body is disposed within the cup cavity and within the at least one retention member.
Swenson does not teach that the secondary retention member comprises an elongated notch extending in a direction generally parallel to the longitudinal axis, the elongated notch including an extension extending inwardly from the inner sidewall into the cup cavity and a notch contact face extending generally perpendicular to the extension and facing the longitudinal axis, the secondary retention member further comprising an inner surface that faces the inner sidewall, wherein the inner surface and the extension cooperate to direct the cosmetic substance into the undercut region of the at least one retention member.
Moon teaches a secondary retention member (330) that comprises an elongated notch (defined between the top legs of the T-shape and the inner wall of the cup) extending in a direction generally parallel to the longitudinal axis, the elongated notch including an extension (leg of 330 extending from inner wall) extending inwardly from the inner sidewall into the cup cavity and a notch contact face (top legs of the T-shape) extending generally perpendicular to the extension and facing the longitudinal axis, the secondary retention member further comprising an inner surface that faces the inner sidewall (Fig. 5).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have replaced the secondary retention member of Swenson with the secondary retention member of Moon, including an elongated notch extending in a direction generally parallel to the longitudinal axis, the elongated notch including an extension extending inwardly from the inner sidewall into the cup cavity and a notch contact face extending generally perpendicular to the extension and facing the longitudinal axis, the secondary retention member further comprising an inner surface that faces the inner sidewall, for the purpose of stably supporting the cosmetic substance (see second paragraph of pg. 5 in the attached translation).
It is noted that the combination of Swenson and Moon would result in the inner surface and the extension cooperate to direct the cosmetic substance into the undercut region of the at least one retention member. When the cosmetic substance is pressed down, the top of the T-shaped retention member with push a portion of the cosmetic toward the inner wall of the cup and the recesses of Swenson.
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Swenson and Moon teaches the cosmetic product container of claim 10, wherein the at least one retention member includes a plurality of recesses extending inwardly into the inner sidewall in an axial pattern (Swenson Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Swenson and Moon teaches the cosmetic product container of claim 10, wherein the at least one retention member includes a plurality of recesses extending inwardly into the inner sidewall in a radial pattern about the periphery of the inner sidewall (Swenson Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 17, the combination of Swenson and Moon teaches the cosmetic product container of claim 10, wherein the extension and the notch contact face cooperate to define a channel region (Moon Fig. 5).
Regarding claim 19, Swenson teaches a method of assembling a cosmetic product, the method comprising: providing a cup (30) including a cup body having a first body end, a second body end, an inner sidewall forming a cup cavity, at least one retention member (see annotated Fig. 1 above) disposed on the inner sidewall of the cup body and extending into the inner sidewall, the at least one retention member comprising a recess extending into the inner sidewall, the recess including an upper ledge surface that cooperates with the inner sidewall to define an undercut region (Fig. 1), the at least one retention member further extending a width around a periphery of the inner sidewall (Fig. 1), the cup further including a secondary retention member (52) disposed on the inner sidewall of the cup body and extending into the cup cavity, the secondary retention member being positioned adjacent to the at least one retention member (Fig. 1); inserting a cosmetic substance (L) having a first end, a second end, and an elongated body therebetween into the cup cavity of the cup (as in Fig. 8), and at least partially disposing the cup within a container cavity of an inner body (as in Fig. 1).
Swenson does not teach that the secondary retention member comprises an elongated notch extending in a direction generally parallel to the longitudinal axis, the elongated notch including an extension extending inwardly from the inner sidewall into the cup cavity and a notch contact face extending generally perpendicular to the extension and facing the longitudinal axis, the secondary retention member further comprising an inner surface that faces the inner sidewall, wherein the inner surface and the extension cooperate to direct the cosmetic substance at least a portion of the cosmetic substance to enter the at least one retention member.
Moon teaches a secondary retention member (330) that comprises an elongated notch (defined between the top legs of the T-shape and the inner wall of the cup) extending in a direction generally parallel to the longitudinal axis, the elongated notch including an extension (leg of 330 extending from inner wall) extending inwardly from the inner sidewall into the cup cavity and a notch contact face (top legs of the T-shape) extending generally perpendicular to the extension and facing the longitudinal axis, the secondary retention member further comprising an inner surface that faces the inner sidewall (Fig. 5).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have replaced the secondary retention member of Swenson with the secondary retention member of Moon, including an elongated notch extending in a direction generally parallel to the longitudinal axis, the elongated notch including an extension extending inwardly from the inner sidewall into the cup cavity and a notch contact face extending generally perpendicular to the extension and facing the longitudinal axis, the secondary retention member further comprising an inner surface that faces the inner sidewall, for the purpose of stably supporting the cosmetic substance (see second paragraph of pg. 5 in the attached translation).
It is noted that the combination of Swenson and Moon would result in the inner surface and the extension cooperate to direct the cosmetic substance into the undercut region of the at least one retention member. When the cosmetic substance is pressed down, the top of the T-shaped retention member with push a portion of the cosmetic toward the inner wall of the cup and the recesses of Swenson.
Claim(s) 6 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Swenson and Moon as applied to claims 1 and 10 above, and further in view of Richard (EP 0940103).
Regarding claims 6 and 15, the combination of Swenson and Moon teaches the cup of claim 1 and the cosmetic product container of claim 10, respectively, wherein the elongated notch has a first end positioned at or near the first end of the cup and having a first width, a second end having a second width positioned at or near the second end of the cup, but does not teach that the second width is greater than the first width thereof.
Richard teaches retention members (56, 58) that taper to a point from bottom to top.
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the secondary retention member of Moon such that it tapers from top to bottom as taught by Richard for the purpose of facilitating penetration of the cosmetic (Richard, seventh-ninth paragraphs of pg. 3).
It is noted that this change to the shape of the secondary retention member would result in the second width of the notch being greater than the first width of the notch.
Claim(s) 9 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Swenson and Moon as applied to claims 1 and 10 above, and further in view of Hurlburt (US 2003/0108376).
Regarding claims 9 and 18, the combination of Swenson and Moon teaches the cup of claim 1 and 10, respectively, further comprising a floor member (Swenson, bottom of 30).
Swenson does not teach that the floor member defines an opening surrounded by a frustoconical surface.
Hurlburt teaches a floor member that defines an opening (Fig. 1) surrounded by a frustoconical surface (50).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the floor of Swenson to include an opening surrounded by a frustoconical surface for the purpose of providing additional retention means for securing the cosmetic to the floor member (Hurlburt ¶0022).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 10, and 19 have been 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRADLEY S OLIVER whose telephone number is (571)270-3787. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 7-3 ET.
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/BRADLEY S OLIVER/Examiner, Art Unit 3754
/DAVID P ANGWIN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3754
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