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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention II (claims 9-20) in the reply filed on December 8, 2025 is acknowledged. Claims 1-8 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. An action on the merits is to follow regarding claims 9-20.
Claim Objections
Claim 11 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 11 is missing a period at the end of the claim
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b)
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 9 (and claims 10-20 at least due to dependency from claim 9) is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
***Examiner notes that line numbers referenced herein to Applicant’s claims are based on the claims document filed on May 15, 2024, which may not be identical to the line numbering in the claims document submitted on December 8, 2025 with the Election/Restriction response, due to the presence of the status identifiers in the latter-filed document.
Regarding claim 9, Applicant recites the term “therethrough” (lines 6 and 14), which is indefinite. Correction is required. Line 6’s instance is being interpreted as “through the hole of the garment”. Line 14’s instance is being interpreted as “through the hole of the first panel”.
Further regarding claim 9, Applicant recites “the front and back” (line 12). At this point in the claim, there are multiple instances of “a front” and “a back”, and there mere reference to “the front and back” is indefinite. Correction is required. Examiner suggests “the front of the first panel and the back of the first panel” in line 12.
Regarding claim 11, Applicant recites “wherein a width of the fringe is accommodated adjacent to and outside of the closure”. This limitation recites structure of the hypothetical fringe in active relation to the positively recited structure of the garment. At this point in the claim language (i.e. among claims 9-11), Applicant never positively recites that “a fringe” is part of the garment. The only positive reference to “a fringe” is within functional language in claim 9, at lines 5-6 and 13-14. Correction is required. Claim 11 is being interpreted as reciting “wherein the closure is capable of accommodating a width of the fringe adjacent to the closure and outside of the closure”, as best as can be understood.
Regarding claim 12, Applicant recites “the front and back” (line 7). At this point in the claim language (i.e. among claim 9 and claim 12 lines 1-7), there are multiple instances of “a front” and “a back”, and there mere reference to “the front and back” is indefinite. Correction is required. Examiner suggests “the front of the second panel and the back of the second panel” in line 7 of claim 12.
Further regarding claim 12, Applicant recites the term “therethrough” (line 9), which is indefinite. Correction is required. The term “therethrough” in claim 12, line 9, is being interpreted as “through the hole of the second panel”.
Regarding claim 14, Applicant recites “wherein a width of the fringe is accommodated adjacent to and outside of the closure”. This limitation recites structure of the hypothetical fringe in active relation to the positively recited structure of the garment. At this point in the claim language (i.e. among claims 9 and 12-14), Applicant never positively recites that “a fringe” is part of the garment. The only positive reference to “a fringe” is within functional language in claim 9, at lines 5-6 and 13-14. Correction is required. Claim 14 is being interpreted as reciting “wherein the closure is capable of accommodating a width of the fringe adjacent to the closure and outside of the closure”, as best as can be understood.
Regarding claim 15, Applicant recites “further comprising a plurality of corners and a plurality of first panels”. It is unclear whether the existing “corner” and “first panel” (positively recited in claim 9, from which claim 15 depends) are part of the “plurality of corners” and “plurality of first panels”, or are distinct therefrom. Correction is required. One potential remedy would be to refer to the “plurality of corners” and “plurality of first panels” as being “a plurality of additional corners” and “a plurality of additional first panels”.
Further regarding claim 15, Applicant again uses the term “therethrough” which is indefinite, and refers to “the front and back” without clarifying which front and which back. As a courtesy to Applicant, Examiner has prepared the following language as a potential correction/clarification of all of the above issues identified with respect to claim 15:
Claim 15. (Proposed Amendment) The garment of claim 9, further comprising a plurality of additional corners and a plurality of additional first panels, wherein each first panel of the plurality of additional first panels is disposed at a respective corner of the plurality of additional corners,
wherein, proximal to each corner of the plurality of additional corners, the garment defines a respective additional hole through the front of the garment and the back of the garment, wherein each respective additional hole is configured to accommodate a fringe through the respective additional hole,
wherein each first panel of the plurality of additional first panels includes:
a front,
a back,
a top end, and
a bottom end,
wherein each first panel of the plurality of additional first panels defines a respective additional hole through the front of each first panel of the plurality of additional first panels and the back of each first panel of the plurality of additional first panels, the respective additional hole of each first panel of the plurality of additional first panels disposed proximal to the bottom end of the respective first panel of the plurality of additional first panels and below the respective additional hole of the garment, wherein the respective additional hole of each first panel of the plurality of additional first panels is configured to accommodate the fringe through the respective additional hole of each first panel of the plurality of additional first panels,
wherein the back of each first panel of the plurality of additional first panels is partially attached to the back of the garment at the respective corner such that a respective additional first aperture is formed between the back of each first panel of the plurality of additional first panels and the back of the garment, and
wherein each respective additional first aperture is configured to contain a portion of the fringe.
***If Applicant adopts this suggested amendment to claim 15, Applicant should review all claims dependent from claim 15 and amend accordingly for correction of antecedent basis that may stem from claim 15’s amended language.
Regarding claim 17, Applicant recites “wherein a width of the fringe is accommodated adjacent to and outside of the closure of each respective corner of the plurality of corners”. This limitation recites structure of the hypothetical fringe in active relation to the positively recited structure of the garment. At this point in the claim language (i.e. among claims 9 and 15-17), Applicant never positively recites that “a fringe” is part of the garment. The only positive reference to “a fringe” is within functional language in claim 9, at lines 5-6 and 13-14. Correction is required. Claim 17 is being interpreted as reciting “wherein the closure is capable of accommodating a width of the fringe adjacent to the closure and outside of the closure of each respective corner of the plurality of additional corners”, as best as can be understood (i.e. Examiner notes that this interpretation is based on the suggested amendment to claim 15 above).
Regarding claim 18, Applicant recites the term “therethrough” (line 12), which is indefinite. Correction is required. The term “therethrough” in claim 18, line 12, is being interpreted as “through the hole of each second panel”.
Regarding claim 20, Applicant recites “wherein a width of the fringe is accommodated adjacent to and outside of the closure of each respective corner of the plurality of corners”. This limitation recites structure of the hypothetical fringe in active relation to the positively recited structure of the garment. At this point in the claim language (i.e. among claims 9, 15 and 18-20), Applicant never positively recites that “a fringe” is part of the garment. The only positive reference to “a fringe” is within functional language in claim 9, at lines 5-6 and 13-14. Correction is required. Claim 20 is being interpreted as reciting “wherein the closure is capable of accommodating a width of the fringe adjacent to the closure and outside of the closure of each respective corner of the plurality of additional corners”.
An effort has been made to identify all indefinite language with the pending claims. However, Examiner notes the above listing of 35 U.S.C. § 112 rejections may not be conclusive and Applicant is required to review every claim for compliance to 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) so as to facilitate a clear understanding of the claimed invention and proper application of the prior art.
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.
Claims 9-11 and 15-17, as best as can be understood, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Falack (USPN 4,912,780) in view of Barkai (US 2009/0144877) and Bailey et al. (hereinafter “Bailey”) (US 2017/0340037).
Regarding independent claim 9, Falack discloses a garment (shirt article #20; Figs. 2-3 of Falack) comprising: a front (the surface in view in Fig. 2 is a front); a back (the opposite surface out of view in Fig. 2 is a back); a corner (corner section #26), wherein the garment defines a hole through the front and back (hole #36 in Fig. 2 is shown to extend through both layers of fabric (i.e. the layer defining the garment body and the reinforcing layer of fabric at the corner (Col. 1, Lines 53-55 and Col. 2, Lines 58-59 of Falack)), the hole of the garment disposed proximal to the corner (Col. 1, Lines 55-57 and Col. 2, Lines 58-59 of Falack state that the hole is at the corner), wherein the hole of the garment is configured to accommodate a fringe therethrough (as shown in Figs. 2-3, a fringe #44 passes through the hole; Examiner notes that the emphasized/italicized language does not further structurally define the claimed invention in any patentably-distinguishing sense, and that “a fringe” is merely hypothetical in the claim language); and a first panel disposed at the corner of the garment (as noted above, each corner has a reinforcing fabric (i.e. a first panel) at the respective corner), wherein the first panel includes: a front, a back, a top end, and a bottom end (each corner’s reinforcing fabric (particularly corner section #26, for purposes of addressing claim 9) is a first panel which is generally rectangular, which has a front surface, a back surface, and top and bottom ends), wherein the first panel defines a hole through the front and back, the hole of the first panel disposed proximal to the bottom end of the first panel (Fig. 2 shows the fringe passing through all the way through the garment and the reinforcing fabric, which indicates a hole being present through each of the garment body and the reinforcing fabric panel; the hole is proximal to both the top end and the bottom end, as “proximal” is a very broad adjective, absent further distinguishing language in the claim), wherein the hole of the first panel is configured to accommodate the fringe therethrough (as shown in Figs. 2-3, a fringe #44 passes through both holes in both layers of material at the corner; Examiner notes that the emphasized/italicized language does not further structurally define the claimed invention in any patentably-distinguishing sense, and that “a fringe” is merely hypothetical in the claim language). Falack is silent to the hole of the first panel being below the hole of the garment, and silent to the back of the first panel being partially attached to the back of the garment such that a first aperture is formed between the back of the first panel and the back of the garment, and wherein the first aperture is configured to contain a portion of the fringe.
Barkai teaches a shirt garment with fringes (tzitziths #62) supported at corners of the garment (see Fig. 3 of Barkai), wherein the corners on the inside surface of the garment define a panel to create respective protection pockets (#18) with respective apertures for receiving the respective fringes therethrough to be stowed into the respective pocket (pocket is sewn at all but one side, with the remaining side having a button #60 fastener for closing the pocket when the tzitziths are held therein (¶ 0037 of Barkai)), wherein the protection pockets protect the fringe when stowed in the pocket during washing the garment in a washing machine (¶ 0009 of Barkai).
Bailey teaches a sleeveless garment that has perforations #410/510 dispersed throughout (see Figs. 4 and 5), wherein the perforations can be of any diameter, such as approximately 4 mm for perforations #410 or approximately 6 mm for perforations #510 (¶ 0089 of Bailey), or anywhere between 1.5 mm up to 16 mm, wherein and an all aspects, and any variation thereof, are contemplated as being within the scope taught by Bailey (¶ 0089 of Bailey). The perforations are provided to improve air flow, for promoting evaporative cooling for the wearer (Abstract of Bailey).
Falack and Barkai teach analogous inventions in the field of shirts with corners that attach fringes thereto. Falack and Bailey teach analogous inventions in the field of sleeveless shirts. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have modified the reinforcement fabric at all of the corners in Falack to be located on the inside surface of the garment and open on one side with a button fastener thereat, to enable the user to stow the fringes inside the space between the reinforcement fabric and the garment body fabric in a secure manner during laundering of the garment, in order to protect the fringes, as taught by Barkai. It would have been further obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have incorporated either of the perforation patterns #410 or #510 of Bailey throughout the garment of Falack in order to promote increased air flow, for evaporative cooling for the wearer, as taught by Bailey, wherein there would be perforations in the size of approximately 4 mm or approximately 6 mm throughout the entire garment. As a result of the modifications, the back of the first panel would be partially attached to the back of the garment such that a first aperture is formed between the back of the first panel and the back of the garment, and wherein the first aperture is configured to contain a portion of the fringe (as taught by Barkai and incorporated into Falack), and the garment body would have numerous holes throughout, wherein at least one of the holes positioned above the fringe-traversing hole in the corner would constitute “the hole” of “the garment”, wherein the fringe-traversing hole in the corner (i.e. through the first panel) would be lower than said one of the holes of the garment. Since the holes of the garment would be approximately 4 mm or approximately 6 mm, they would at least be capable of having a fringe passed therethrough.
Regarding claim 10, the modified garment of Falack (i.e. Falack in view of Barkai and Bailey, as applied to claim 9 above) is rendered obvious to further comprise a closure for, at least partially, selectively enclosing the first aperture (the buttons #60 incorporated into Falack from the teachings of Barkai are a closure for selectively enclosing the first aperture (i.e. the side of the pocket, when the buttons are unfastened, is the first aperture)).
Regarding claim 11, the modified garment of Falack (i.e. Falack in view of Barkai and Bailey, as applied to claims 9 and 10 above) renders obvious that a width of the fringe is accommodated adjacent to and outside of the closure (Figs. 2-3 of Falack show that there is a fringe with a width that is accommodated adjacent and outside of the corner, which has the outside of the closure; Examiner notes that claim 11 does not further structurally define the claimed invention in any patentable sense, as it is only describing details of the hypothetical fringe).
Regarding claim 15, the modified garment of Falack (i.e. Falack in view of Barkai and Bailey, as applied to claim 9 above) is rendered obvious to further comprise a plurality of corners and a plurality of first panels, wherein each first panel of the plurality of first panels is disposed at a respective corner of the plurality of corners, wherein, proximal to each corner of the plurality of corners, the garment defines a hole through the front and back, wherein each hole is configured to accommodate a fringe therethrough, wherein each first panel of the plurality of panels includes: a front, a back, a top end, and a bottom end, wherein each first panel defines a hole through the front and back, the hole of each first panel disposed proximal to the bottom end of the respective first panel and below the hole of the garment, wherein the hole of each first panel is configured to accommodate the fringe therethrough, wherein the back of each first panel is partially attached to the back of the garment at the respective corner such that a first aperture is formed between the back of each first panel and the back of the garment, and wherein each first aperture is configured to contain a portion of the fringe (Examiner notes that claim 15 essentially recites the same features for additional corners and additional first panels (i.e. “plurality of corners” and “plurality of first panels”) that were recited in claim 9; since modified Falack contains four instances of the corner, then claim 15 is deemed to be met by the resulting structure of the modification described to address claim 9).
Regarding claim 16, the modified garment of Falack (i.e. Falack in view of Barkai and Bailey, as applied to claims 9 and 15 above) is rendered obvious to further comprise a closure disposed proximal to each corner of the plurality of corners, wherein each closure, at least partially, selectively encloses the first aperture of the respective corner (the buttons #60 incorporated into Falack from the teachings of Barkai are a closure for selectively enclosing the first aperture at each corner (i.e. the side of the pocket, when the buttons are unfastened, is the first aperture)).
Regarding claim 17, the modified garment of Falack (i.e. Falack in view of Barkai and Bailey, as applied to claims 9, 15 and 16 above) renders obvious that a width of the fringe is accommodated adjacent to and outside of the closure of each respective corner of the plurality of corners (Figs. 2-3 of Falack show that there is a fringe with a width that is accommodated adjacent and outside each of the corners, which has the outside of the closures; Examiner notes that claim 17 does not further structurally define the claimed invention in any patentable sense, as it is only describing details of the hypothetical fringe).
Claims 12-14 and 18-20, as best as can be understood, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Falack in view of Barkai and Bailey as applied to claim 9 (and claim 15, regarding claims 18-20) above, and further in view of Shirinian (USPN 4,845,784).
Regarding claim 12, the modified garment of Falack (i.e. Falack in view of Barkai and Bailey, as applied to claim 9 above) renders obvious all the limitations of claim 9, as set forth above. Modified Falack is silent to the garment further comprising a second panel disposed at the corner of the garment, wherein the second panel includes: a front, a back, a top end, and a bottom end, wherein the second panel defines a hole through the front and back, the hole of the second panel disposed proximal to the bottom end of the second panel and below the hole of the garment, wherein the hole of the second panel is configured to accommodate the fringe therethrough, wherein the back of the second panel is partially attached to the front of the first panel such that a second aperture is formed between the back of the second panel and the front of the first panel, and wherein the second aperture is configured to contain a portion of the fringe.
Shirinian discloses a pocket system for a garment, wherein the pocket is a double pocket formed by three panels (walls #18, #20, #24), with a first pocket (#22) disposed between two of the panels, and a second pocket (#26) disposed between a panel and a shared one (wall #20) of the first pocket’s panels. Shirinian discloses that the pocket aperture (opening #28) can have a fastener/closure to reduce the pocket’s contents from unauthorized access (Col. 4, Lines 46-52 of Shirinian).
Modified Falack and Shirinian teach analogous inventions in the field of garments. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added an additional panel and second pocket, with its closure, to all of the corner pockets in modified Falack, as taught by Shirinian, in order to provide the user with capability to store additional items in the additional pocket spaces at the corners, wherein unauthorized access thereto would be restricted by the inclusion of the closure/fastener at the added pocket’s opening, as taught by Shirinian. As a result of the modification, there would be a second panel disposed at the corner of the garment, wherein the second panel includes: a front, a back, a top end, and a bottom end (i.e. via added panel and pocket from Shirinian into modified Falack), wherein the second panel defines a hole through the front and back, the hole of the second panel disposed proximal to the bottom end of the second panel and below the hole of the garment (since the Falack garment already teaches that the fringe passes all the way through the thickness (including reinforcement layer and garment base layer), then the added second panel from Shirinian would also have been obvious to have its own hole for passing the fringe therethrough), wherein the hole of the second panel is configured to accommodate the fringe therethrough (as noted above), wherein the back of the second panel is partially attached to the front of the first panel such that a second aperture is formed between the back of the second panel and the front of the first panel (as noted above, there is a closure fastener at a second aperture for the added second panel and second pocket, as taught by Shirinian and incorporated into modified Falack, as explained above), and wherein the second aperture is configured to contain a portion of the fringe (the added second pocket’s aperture would at least be capable of containing a portion of the fringe therethrough).
Regarding claim 13, the modified garment of Falack (i.e. Falack in view of Barkai, Bailey and Shirinian, as applied to claim 12 above) renders obvious that it further comprises a closure for, at least partially, selectively enclosing the second aperture (as taught by Shirinian and incorporated into modified Falack, the second aperture has a closure fastener for restricting access to the second pocket when unauthorized and closed).
Regarding claim 14, the modified garment of Falack (i.e. Falack in view of Barkai, Bailey and Shirinian, as applied to claims 12 and 13 above) renders obvious that a width of the fringe is accommodated adjacent to and outside of the closure (as explained above; Examiner notes that claim 14 does not further structurally define the claimed invention in any patentably-distinguishing sense as it is only further defining the hypothetical fringe).
Regarding claim 18, the modified garment of Falack (i.e. Falack in view of Barkai, Bailey and Shirinian, as such modification is described above when addressing claim 12) renders obvious that the modified garment further comprises a plurality of second panels, wherein each second panel of the plurality of second panels is disposed at a respective corner of the plurality of corners, wherein each second panel of the plurality of second panels includes: a front, a back, a top end, and a bottom end, wherein each second panel defines a hole through the front and back, the hole of each second panel disposed proximal to the bottom end of the respective second panel and below the hole of the garment, wherein the hole of each second panel is configured to accommodate the fringe therethrough, wherein the back of each second panel is partially attached to the front of a respective first panel of the plurality of first panels such that a second aperture is formed between the back of each second panel and the front of the respective first panel, and wherein each second aperture is configured to contain a portion of the fringe (Examiner notes that claim 18 essentially recites the same features for additional second panels (i.e. “a plurality of second panels”) that were recited in claim 12 regarding “a second panel”; since modified Falack contains four instances of the corner and its added second panels, then claim 18 is deemed to be met by the resulting structure of the modification described to address claim 12).
Regarding claim 19, the modified garment of Falack (i.e. Falack in view of Barkai, Bailey and Shirinian, as applied to claim 18 above) renders obvious that the modified garment further comprises a closure disposed proximal to each corner of the plurality of corners, wherein each closure, at least partially, selectively encloses the second aperture of the respective corner (see the 35 U.S.C. 103 rejection of claim 13 above, which addresses this similarly).
Regarding claim 20, the modified garment of Falack (i.e. Falack in view of Barkai, Bailey and Shirinian, as applied to claims 18 and 19 above) renders obvious that a width of the fringe is accommodated adjacent to and outside of the closure of each respective corner of the plurality of corners (see the 35 U.S.C. 103 rejection of claim 14 above, which addresses this similarly).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. All art cited on the PTO-892 and not relied upon in an art rejection above is deemed relevant in the field of garments with fringes/tzitziths at the corners.
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/JAMESON D COLLIER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3732