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 .
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(s) 1, 5, 8-9, 11, and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kieser (EP 1786618 B1).
Regarding claims 1, 5, 8-9, 11, and 14, Kieser discloses a sheet material formed with a partial depth cut in the form of an open loop and container made therefrom comprising a laminated packaging sheet material which is folded to form said container, the sheet material comprising a cut (4) extending partway through the sheet material (see Figures 1-2) from an outside surface thereof, along which cut the sheet material is configured to be broken along the cut during a first opening of the container revealing an opening in the container the sheet material comprising as layers of a layer sequence, in a direction from an external side to an internal side of the sheet material, a paperboard layer (1b), a polymeric intermediate layer (1c) and a polymeric barrier layer (1e; see Fig. 4) wherein the polymeric intermediate layer, is made of a material comprising LDPE, LLDPE, mLLDPE, MDPE, HDPE, PP or any blend thereof (see Par. 0003 and 0011).
Claim(s) 1, 3-6, and 8-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sasaki et al. (EP 3323748 A1; hereinafter Sasaki).
Regarding claims 1, 3-5, 8-9, and 12-14, Sasaki discloses a packaging container comprising a laminated packaging sheet material which is folded to form said container, the sheet material comprising a cut (207a-b; see Fig. 4) extending partway through the sheet material (see Figures 1-4) from an outside surface thereof, along which cut the sheet material is configured to be broken along the cut during a first opening of the container revealing an opening in the container the sheet material comprising as layers of a layer sequence, in a direction from an external side to an internal side of the sheet material, a paperboard layer (202), a polymeric intermediate layer (203) and a polymeric barrier layer (204; see Fig. 4) wherein the polymeric intermediate layer, is made of a material comprising LDPE, LLDPE, mLLDPE, MDPE, HDPE, PP or any blend thereof (see Par. 0033).
Regarding claim 6, Sasaki discloses a container wherein the cut extends into the sheet material at least partly through the paperboard layer, and at most partly into the polymeric intermediate layer (see Fig. 4). Examiner notes that cut portion 207b is in the polymeric layer and cut portion 207a is in the paperboard layer.
Regarding claim 10, Sasaki discloses a container wherein the sheet material further comprises a vacuum deposited layer between the polymeric barrier layer and the polymeric intermediate layer (see Par. 0065 and 0071).
Regarding claim 11, Sasaki discloses a container wherein the polymeric barrier layer is made of EVOH (see Par. 0035).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 15 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 10/06/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that the prior art fails to teach a polymeric intermediate layer made of a material comprising LDPE, LLDPE, mLLDPE, MDPE, HDPE, PP, or any blend thereof.
-Examiner respectfully disagrees and notes that Kieser teaches that it is well known to use LDPE as a barrier layer in a composite laminated packaging sheet material (Kieser; Par. 0003 and 0011). Examiner notes that Sasaki (EP 3323748 A1) is also relied upon to teach this limitation and Applicant seems to have acquiesced this rejection by not addressing the rejection of claims in view of Sasaki.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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