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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because Fig. 4 identifies “F5” as the “section line” for the mounting recess 308. According to par. [0032], however, the correct identification should be “F4.” Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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, and
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by U.S. Pat. Appl. Publ. No. US 2015/0078017 to Frost et al. (Ref. 1 hereafter).
Referring to claim 1, Ref. 1 discloses a film cover (Figs. 1 and 2) for a device housing (11), the film cover comprising:
a pierceable film body (13) having an inner surface (i.e., lower surface) and an outer surface (i.e., upper surface), the body (11) configured to cover a mounting recess (12) on a portion of a device housing surface;
an adhesive ([0034]) on the inner surface; and
a graphical indicator (14) on the outer surface. See [0035].
Referring to claim 2, Ref. 1 discloses the film cover of claim 1, wherein the pierceable film body (13) is impermeable to an environmental contaminant. See [0035].
Referring to claim 3, Ref. 1 discloses the film cover of claim 1, wherein the graphical indicator (14) corresponds to a position of the mounting recess (12).
Referring to claim 5, Ref. 1 discloses a kit, comprising:
a set of film covers (Figs. 5A-5I) corresponding to respective portions of a device housing surface, each portion of the device housing surface having a mounting recess;
each film cover having (i) a pierceable film body (13) having an inner surface (i.e., lower surface) and an outer surface (i.e., upper surface), the body configured to cover a mounting recess (12) on a portion of a device housing (11) surface, (ii) an adhesive ([0034]) on the inner surface, and (iii) a graphical indicator on the outer surface (i.e., formations on Figs. 5A-5I).
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 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ref. 1, which discloses the device as substantially claimed, except for wherein the graphical indicator (14) matches a color of the device housing surface. The Examiner takes Official Notice that it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed, to modify Ref. 1 so that the graphical indicator matches a color of the device housing surface, since this would provide an aesthetically pleasing structure.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANTHONY Q EDWARDS whose telephone number is (571)272-2042. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5:00pm.
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, Imani Hayman can be reached at 571-270-5528. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Anthony Q Edwards/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841
September 23, 2025