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
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) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim (KR 2005-0560087).
Kim discloses a cosmetic applicator comprising a container (100) defining a cavity for retaining a cosmetic (paragraph 15), a body (140) comprising an opening and a cap (110) attached to and removeable from said container to expose said opening, said cap (110) comprising a slot (interior of cap 110), a brush (paragraph 14) comprising a shaft (130) extending from said cap (110) and having an unattached end portion, bristles extending outwardly from said end portion (see Figure 1), and an elongated shield member (120) adapted to prevent excess amounts of the cosmetic from being applied ot the eyelid of the users as the user applies the cosmetic; (second brush member of Kim is interpreted as the shield member), said shield member being telescopically connected to and extending from said cap for movement between a retracted position within said slot and an extended position (Figure 1; paragraph 22-24) parallel to said brush shaft.
Regarding claim 2, wherein said shield member comprises a first section (120) and a second section (125), wherein said first section is telescopically attached to said second section (see Figure 1; paragraph 24).
Regarding claim 3, the first section (120) of said shield member is situated within said second section (125) when said shield member is in said slot (see Figure 2).
Regarding claim 4, the container has an axis and wherein the slot extends within the cap in a direction parallel to the axis (see Figures 1 and 2).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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) 5 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (KR 2005-0560087).
Regarding claims 5 and 6, Kim discloses wherein said cap (110) comprises a neck and wherein said container (140) engages said neck (paragraph 15), wherein said neck comprises an external screw thread and wherein said container has an internal channel adapted to receive said external screw (see Figure 1). Kim does not disclose the container having the neck with external thread and the cap having internal threads. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to reverse the neck and screw threads of Kim, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In this instance case, providing the same technical features of screw threaded attachment.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/9/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to applicant’s argument that Kim does not disclose a shield provided to prevent excess amounts of the cosmetic from being applied to the eyelid as the user applies the cosmetic is not persuasive. Kim has two brush members both extending parallel to the cap as disclosed by applicant, the second brush member can act as a shield since it will effectively block the user from applying excess cosmetic in the extended position since it will be parallel to the first brush member.
In response to applicant’s argument that Kim does not teach the brushes extending from the cap is not persuasive. Kim’s container is defined as the cap (paragraph 15: “A mascara liquid is contained in the cap, and the cap 140 is configured to be coupled to the mascara housing 110 in a screw structure”), however, as defined in the claim the container has a cavity for retaining a cosmetic. Therefore, the examiner redefined the container of Kim as 140 and the cap as 110, since the component 140 holds the cosmetic (i.e. container) and the component 110 holds the brush meeting the claim limitation.
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 RACHEL RUNNING STEITZ whose telephone number is (571)272-1917. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thomas Barrett can be reached at 571-272-4746. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RACHEL R STEITZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3772
1/9/2026