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 .
Response to Amendment
Applicant's request for reconsideration of the finality of the rejection of the last Office action is persuasive and, therefore, the finality of that action is withdrawn.
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) 1-2, 4-15, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Forsblom et al. (AU 2020338696 B2; hereinafter Forsblom) in view of Goodrich (US 2020/0039720 A1).
Regarding claims 1, 4-7, and 12, Forsblom discloses a bag comprising an envelope body that includes a first flexible wall (120), and a second flexible wall (130) overlying the first flexible wall and affixed to the first flexible wall about at least a portion of a pocket border (Page 20 lines 3-11, which pocket border encloses a pocket defined between the first and second flexile walls and configured and dimensioned to contain the item, at least one of the first and second flexible walls defining a pocket opening allowing access to the pocket from an exterior of the envelope for loading the item into the pocket; and a closure-sealing element (peel strip; Page 7 lines 6-20) disposed on the body and positioned to seal closed the pocket opening (127/137), the closure-sealing element being made of a hot-melt adhesive that: has a sufficiently low tackiness at room temperature to enable the closure-sealing element to be separated from the second flexible wall by hand and without damaging the first or the second flexible wall (Examiner notes that removal of the peel strip would not damage the first or second wall), and is activatable when heated to a temperature above an activation temperature and, when subsequently cooled to a temperature below the activation temperature, adheres to the second flexible wall to seal the pocket opening closed to retain the item in the pocket (Page 19 lines 9-30). Forsblom lacks teaching that at least one of the first and second flexible walls is a padded wall.
Goodrich teaches a protective product such as a pouch or envelope having a unique combination of interior padding of pouch or envelope side walls to create a pouch or envelope that is cushioned (see Par. 0061 and 0081-0085). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of Applicant’s filing to modify Forsblom’s container by having the paper sidewalls be made of Goodrich’s embossed (i.e. padded) structure to provide Forsblom’s container with a cushioning characteristic that protects contents held within, as taught by Goodrich.
Regarding claims 2, 8-11, 13, and 15, Forsblom, as modified above, discloses an envelope wherein the hot-melt adhesive has a sufficiently low tackiness at room temperature to enable the closure-sealing element to be peeled from the second flexible wall (Forsblom; Page 7 lines 1-20).
Regarding claim 14, Forsblom, as modified above, discloses an envelope wherein the body further comprises a flap (Forsblom; 129/134) connected to the first flexible wall; wherein the closure sealing element is disposed on the flap; and wherein the closure-sealing element is configured to seal closed the pocket opening by affixing the second flexible wall to the flap (Forsblom; see Figures 2a-e).
Regarding claim 18, Forsblom, as modified above, discloses an envelope comprising a plurality of the envelopes of claim 1 connected in series (Forsblom; Page 12 lines 20-23).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 16 and 21-22 are allowed.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Pages 7-8, filed 08/07/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-2, 4-15, and 18 under USC 102(a)(1)—in view of Forsblom have been fully considered and are persuasive. Forsblom lacks padded walls. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of USC 103(a)—Forsblom in view of Goodrich.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER R DEMEREE whose telephone number is (571)270-1982. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, NATHAN J NEWHOUSE can be reached at (571)272-4544. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHRISTOPHER R DEMEREE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3734
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