DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim 13-17 and 19-20 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over U.S. Design Patent D663,621 S to Lepoitevin (“Lepoitevin”).
This figure, now referred to as Lepoitevin annotated Fig. 1, used for the rejection of claims 13-21 has been replicated below, and the Examiner has added reference points for ease of explanation, and said reference points will be used for the rejection of claims 13-21 below.
PNG
media_image1.png
820
538
media_image1.png
Greyscale
As to claim 13, Lepoitevin teaches a plastic container comprising: a neck section (neck, Lepoitevin annotated Fig. 1), a shoulder section (shoulder, Lepoitevin annotated Fig. 1), a body section (body, Lepoitevin annotated Fig. 1), and a base section (base, Lepoitevin annotated Fig. 1), wherein the base section includes at least two tie members (ties, Lepoitevin annotated Fig. 1) extending from a central area to a side wall (sidewall, Lepoitevin annotated Fig. 1) of the base section (base, Lepoitevin annotated Fig. 1) and in a longitudinal direction into the body section, the at least two tie members arranged between feet of the base section (Lepoitevin annotated Fig. 1 shows the ties between the feet); and a plurality of circumferential grooves (circumferential grooves, Lepoitevin annotated Fig. 1), each groove of which is oriented in a peripheral direction in the body section between the at least two tie members (Lepoitevin annotated Fig. 1 shows the grooves between the ties), wherein the at least two tie members further extend into a labeling area (labeling area is between the two dotted lines, Lepoitevin annotated Fig. 1) of the container in the form of transverse grooves positioned longitudinally between variable depth grooves (variable depth grooves, Lepoitevin annotated Fig. 1) of a plurality of variable depth grooves; but does not teach such that in the labeling area the transverse grooves are aligned with flattened portions of the variable depth grooves at between 0.1 mm and 0.3 mm in depth.
Lepoitevin discloses the claimed invention except for such that in the labeling area the transverse grooves are aligned with flattened portions of the variable depth grooves at between 0.1 mm and 0.3 mm in depth. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to make the variable depth grooves between 0.1 mm and 0.3 mm to make the labeling area sturdy, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. MPEP 2144.05 I.
As to claim 14, Lepoitevin teaches the plastic container of claim 13, wherein the at least two tie members are, outside of the labeling area, in the form of radially outward projecting ribs (ribs, Lepoitevin annotated Fig. 1).
As to claim 15, Lepoitevin teaches the plastic container of claim 13, wherein the base section comprises at least two feet and the number of feet is a multiple of the number of tie members (Lepoitevin Fig. 7 shows six feet and six tie members).
As to claim 16, Lepoitevin teaches the plastic container of claim 13, wherein for two tie members, there are two, four, six, eight, ten, or twelve feet and for three tie members, there are three, six, nine, or twelve feet. Lepoitevin Fig. 7 shows six feet and six tie members.
As to claim 17, Lepoitevin teaches the plastic container of claim 13, further including at least one reinforcement groove (reinforcement groove, Lepoitevin annotated Fig. 1) between the at least two tie members, the at least one reinforcement groove having a varying depth in a radial direction (Lepoitevin annotated Fig. 1 shows the reinforcement groove has a varying depth).
As to claim 19, Lepoitevin teaches the plastic container of claim 13, wherein each groove of the plurality of circumferential grooves has a first depth (first depth, Lepoitevin annotated Fig. 1) at a first location such that the plurality of circumferential grooves functions as one of the at least two tie members (Lepoitevin annotated Fig. 1 shows the first depth in line with the tie members).
As to claim 20, Lepoitevin teaches the plastic container of claim 19, wherein each groove of the plurality of circumferential grooves further has a second depth (second depth, Lepoitevin annotated Fig. 1) at an intermediate area, the first depth being shallower than the second depth (Lepoitevin annotated Fig. 1 shows the first depth being shallower than the second depth).
Claim 18 and 21 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Lepoitevin in view of WIPO Publication WO 2013/129500 A1 to Sekine et al. ("Sekine")
As to claim 18, Lepoitevin teaches the plastic container of claim 13, but does not teach wherein the base section further includes a central dome, a first region, and a second region, the first region adjacent the central dome and having a first radius of curvature greater than the central dome, the second region adjacent the first region and having a second radius of curvature greater than the first radius of curvature.
Sekine teaches wherein the base section (bottom section 30) further includes a central dome (circular recess 34), a first region, and a second region, the first region (second inclined portion 33b) adjacent the central dome (circular recess 34) and having a first radius of curvature greater than the central dome, the second region (first inclined portion 33a) adjacent the first region and having a second radius of curvature greater than the first radius of curvature (Sekine, pg. 5, lines 29-37).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the first and second inclined portions of Sekine with the container as taught by Lepoitevin to maintain the blow moldability of the container (Sekine, pg. 5, lines 36-37).
As to claim 21, Lepoitevin teaches the plastic container of claim 13, but does not teach wherein the base section further includes a central dome, and wherein at least one of the at least two tie members extends from the central dome.
Sekine teaches wherein the base section (bottom section 30) further includes a central dome (circular recess 34), and wherein at least one of the at least two tie members (first reinforcing groove 36) extends from the central dome (Sekine Fig. 1 shows the first reinforcing groove 36 extends from the circular recess 34).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use reinforcing groove extending from the circular recess of Sekine with the container as taught by Lepoitevin to maintain the blow moldability of the container (Sekine, pg. 5, lines 36-37).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 4-6, filed 07/10/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 13-17 and 19-21 under 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of newly found prior art reference.
Conclusion
Applicant is duly reminded that a complete response must satisfy the requirements of 37 C.F. R. 1.111, including: “The reply must present arguments pointing out the specific distinctions believed to render the claims, including any newly presented claims, patentable over any applied references. A general allegation that the claims “define a patentable invention” without specifically pointing out how the language of the claims patentably distinguishes them from the references does not comply with the requirements of this section. Moreover, “The prompt development of a clear Issue requires that the replies of the applicant meet the objections to and rejections of the claims.” Applicant should also specifically point out the support for any amendments made to the disclosure. See MPEP 2163.06 and MPEP 714.02. The ''disclosure'' includes the claims, the specification and the drawings.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MADISON LYNN POOS whose telephone number is (571)270-7427. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thus 10-3 EST.
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, Nathan Jenness can be reached at 571-270-5055. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/M.L.P/Examiner, Art Unit 3733
/JAMES N SMALLEY/Examiner, Art Unit 3733
Prosecution Insights