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 of Invention I and Species A in the reply filed on 8 July 2025 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Claim 11 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 8 July 2025.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(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 1-8, 10, 12, & 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being disclosed by Vorwaller (US 20230117145 A1).
For Claim 1, Vorwaller discloses a fishing lure (fishing lure 4, description starting, e.g. ¶0049) comprising:
a body (body 8);
a lip (lip 28) removably received by the body (discussion starting ¶0051);
a line tie extending from the body (“The body 8 may include one or more eyelets 12 which may be used to attach a hook, such as a treble hook, or another body portion,” ¶0049) or1 lip; and
wherein the body includes a lip release, the lip release actuatable to release the lip for removal from the body (“the body arm 50 may flex inwardly when pressure is applied thereto to apply pressure one of the arms on the lip to thereby release a catch between the lip 28 and the body 8 to facilitate removal of the lip from the body,” ¶0052and further discussed in ¶0059).
For Claim 2, Vorwaller discloses the fishing lure of claim 1, and Vorwaller further discloses wherein the lip includes an internal portion (at least 32, 40, 36, ¶0054) received within a slot of the body (T-shaped slot 66, ¶0058), and an external portion that extends outward from the body (the portion of the lip 28 which is outside of the lure body in Fig. 2).
For Claim 3, Vorwaller discloses the fishing lure of claim 2, and Vorwaller further discloses wherein the slot is angled with respect to a longitudinal axis of the body (at least the downward depending portion of the T-shaped slot forms a right angle with the longitudinal axis represented by the top of the T).
For Claim 4, Vorwaller discloses the fishing lure of claim 2, and Vorwaller further discloses wherein the external portion includes a top surface that is angled with respect to a top surface of the internal portion (as seen in Fig. 4, the lateral seam formed generally between the external and internal portions of the lip 28).
For Claim 5, Vorwaller discloses the fishing lure of claim 2, and Vorwaller further discloses wherein the internal portion engages with the lip release (as discussed in ¶¶0059-63).
For Claim 6, Vorwaller discloses the fishing lure of claim 5, and Vorwaller further discloses wherein the lip release includes a protrusion (74) engaging with a slot of the internal portion (78, Fig. 7).
For Claim 7, Vorwaller discloses the fishing lure of claim 6, and Vorwaller further discloses wherein the lip release is configured to be depressed relative to the body (50 may be depressed, ¶¶0052,55-56) such that the protrusion of the lip release moves relative to the slot of the internal portion (in order to remove 74 from 78, ¶¶0061-62).
For Claim 8, Vorwaller discloses the fishing lure of claim 6, and Vorwaller further discloses wherein the internal portion includes a top surface2, and wherein the protrusion extends generally perpendicular to the top surface (one of the outside surfaces of 32/28 in which the respective slot 78 extends “downwardly” from the “top” surface, the protrusion from 74 projects downwardly into the slot, and breaks the upper surface plane).
For Claim 10, Vorwaller discloses the fishing lure of claim 6, wherein at least one of3 the protrusion and the slot include an angled surface configured to facilitate insertion of the lip into the body (the lip itself is angled, allowing for ease of insertion, see Figs. 3-4).
For Claim 12, Vorwaller discloses the fishing lure of claim 1, and Vorwaller further discloses wherein the lip includes a non-uniform weight distribution (as seen from the side view, Fig. 3, the weight distribution would be toward the left or insertion end of the lip).
For Claim 19, Vorwaller discloses a method ¶0062 comprising:
activating a lip release (50) on a body of a fishing lure to release a first lip (28) received in the body (8);
removing the first lip from the body (“A lip 28 may be changed in a matter of seconds…,” ¶0062); and
inserting a second lip into the body (one of Figs. 10-13, for example).
For Claim 20, Vorwaller discloses the method of claim 19, and Vorwaller further discloses wherein the first lip includes a different weight distribution than the second lip (each of the exemplary shapes of Figs. 10-13 would have an inherently different weight distribution than 28 in Figs. 1-3).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 9 would be allowable if rewritten to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 13-18 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
For Claim 9: the prior art of record does not disclose or teach the combination of recited features directed to the claimed fishing lure of claim 6, further requiring wherein the slot is L-shaped and includes a longitudinal portion and a lateral portion extending laterally from the longitudinal portion, and wherein the protrusion is biased by a spring into the lateral portion.
While Vorwaller does disclose slots engaged in cooperation with a deformable latch in the sidewall of the device, it is silent to an additional spring element, and an L-shaped slot, as claimed.
Similarly, US 20190269112 A1 to Olson et al. discloses a top-down slot through the outside of the lure body and a spring-biased locking member 119, ¶0024-25. However, Olson is silent at least to the inserted portion of the lure lip having an L-shaped slot.
For Claims 13-18: the prior art of record does not disclose or teach the combination of recited features directed to the claimed fishing lure requiring a body, a line tie extending from the body, a first eye disposed on a first side of the body and a second eye disposed on a second, opposed side of the body. The claimed fishing lure specifically requiring a spring extending between the first eye and the second eye; and wherein the first eye is configured to be selectively depressed relative to the body to release a lip removably received by the body.
While Vorwaller discloses a fishing lure (fishing lure 4, description starting, e.g. ¶0049) comprising:
a body (body 8);
a line tie (12/16) extending from the body (Fig. 3);
a first eye (62) disposed on a first side of the body and a second eye (another 62, seen in Fig 15 but not labeled) disposed on a second, opposed side of the body, the disclosure of Vorwaller is silent to a spring extending between the first eye and the second eye; and wherein the first eye is configured to be selectively depressed relative to the body to release a lip removably received by the body.
Similarly, WO 0195713 A1 to Reixach teaches a spring which runs in the same horizontal direction as a plane which lies in the two eyes, but it is silent to the spring extending between the first eye and the second eye; and wherein the first eye is configured to be selectively depressed relative to the body to release a lip removably received by the body.
Similar to Reixach, US 20080222939 A1 to Smith et al. teaches a deformable lip attachment means, but it is not between the two eyes, and one of the eyes is not depressible to actuate the removal of the lip. Marusack et al. (US 5926993 A) is also silent to a depressible eye for the actuation of removal of the lip.
This statement is not intended to necessarily state all the reasons for allowance or all the details why the claims are allowed and has not been written to specifically or impliedly state that all the reasons for allowance are set forth (MPEP § 1302.14).
Conclusion
The cited prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Special attention is drawn to the disclosures of US 3913257 A, US 6101758 A, WO 0195713 A1, US 20060236588 A1, US 7316095 B1, and US 9572331 B1 as disclosing an invention or aspects of the invention which are similar to those claimed and/or disclosed in the instant invention. Additionally, US 20080222939 A1 to Smith et al. appears to read as an additional 102 rejection on claim 1.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Morgan T. Jordan whose telephone number is (571)272-8141. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 8:30-5:30.
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/MORGAN T JORDAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3643
1 Interpretation note: only one aspect is required due to the alternative construction triggered by the “or” limitation.
2 Interpretation note: the “top” surface lacks any other points of reference to establish verticality from the device. As a fishing lure is regularly used in an aquatic environment, “up” can be defined in any number of ways.
3 Interpretation note: only one aspect is required due to the alternative construction triggered by the “at least one” Markush limitation.