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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
Acknowledgement is made to Applicant’s lack of an Information Disclosure Statement submission.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: the claim should begin with an article (“A scalp oil massager.”) and include elements that further define the preamble. See MPEP 608.01(m) and 37 CFR 1.75(e).
It appears the inventor(s) filed the current application pro se (i.e., without the benefit of representation by a registered patent practitioner). While inventors named as applicants in a patent application may prosecute the application pro se, lack of familiarity with patent examination practice and procedure may result in missed opportunities in obtaining optimal protection for the invention disclosed. The inventor(s) may wish to secure the services of a registered patent practitioner to prosecute the application, because the value of a patent is largely dependent upon skilled preparation and prosecution. The Office cannot aid in selecting a patent practitioner.
A listing of registered patent practitioners is available at https://oedci.uspto.gov/OEDCI/. Applicants may also obtain a list of registered patent practitioners located in their area by writing to Mail Stop OED, Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Thiebaut (US 2012/0121313 A1), hereafter Thiebaut.
Regarding Claim 1, Thiebaut discloses a Scalp Oil Massager (fig. 1, [0017] and [0028]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 0687363 A fig. 2 discloses a massaging device that dispenses a liquid via the handle (fig. 6-7, col. 2 page 2 lines 103-117).
DE 19926996 A1 discloses an applicator with a roller ball for dispensing a topical fluid to a user (fig. 1a, abstract)
GB 2371041 A discloses a massaging device for applying a fluid product to a user’s skin (fig. 4, abstract)
Bromley (US 6925672 B1) discloses a lotion application tool with roller balls (fig. 1, roller balls 32, col. 2 lines 48-57).
KR 200448686 Y1 fig. 1 discloses a device for massaging a scalp
CN 105326634 A discloses a device for massaging a scalp that applies a liquid (fig. 1)
US 2021/0361049 A1 discloses a scalp massager that dispenses a fluid (fig. 1, abstract)
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SARA K. TOICH whose telephone number is (703)756-1450. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 7:30 am - 4:30 pm, every other F 7:30-3:30 ET.
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/SARA K TOICH/Examiner, Art Unit 3785
/BRANDY S LEE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3785
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