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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 9/17/24 has been considered by the examiner.
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)(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 1-9 and 11-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US 2022/0111620 (SUGIYAMA ET AL).
The applied reference has a common assignee/applicant with the instant application. Based upon the earlier effectively filed date of the reference, it constitutes prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2). This rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) might be overcome by: (1) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(a) that the subject matter disclosed in the reference was obtained directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor of this application and is thus not prior art in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(A); (2) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(b) of a prior public disclosure under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(B) if the same invention is not being claimed; or (3) a statement pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) establishing that, not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention, the subject matter disclosed in the reference and the claimed invention were either owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person or subject to a joint research agreement.
Regarding claim 1: The reference discloses a wood sheet comprising a support [0072], a thermoplastic shape conforming layer [0071], a wood layer [0068], a color layer [0070], a second adhesive layer [0065], a first adhesive layer [0062] and a protective layer [0058].
Regarding claim 2 and 4: The reference discloses a base layer formed on the surface away from the color layer. See Figure 2 and [0055] for base film 51.
Regarding claim 3: The reference discloses a second base layer. See Figure 8 for film 8.
Regarding claim 5-7: The reference discloses the second adhesive layer is formed on the color layer. conforms to the shape of the surface and is formed of an iso-cyanate based curing agent and has a crosslinking structure of a urethane bond. See [0065-66].
Regarding claim 9: The reference discloses the adhesive layers thickness. See [0067].
Regarding claim 11: The reference discloses the method of laminating the wood sheet. The steps of thermocompression bonding a wood laminate of a second adhesive, color layer, wood layer, thermoplastic shape conforming layer and support with a sheet comprising a first adhesive and protective layer. See [0049].
Regarding claim 12: The reference discloses a base layer. See base layers [0055] and layer 8.
Regarding claim 13: The reference discloses the second adhesive is formed on the color layer side of the wood. See [0065].
Regarding claim 14: The reference discloses a release layer and base film on the protective layer. See [0055-57].
Regarding claim 15: The reference discloses applying the second adhesive layer by the processes disclosed in [0091].
Regarding claim 16: The reference discloses the second adhesive is cured. See [0092].
Regarding claim 17-19: The reference discloses a molding formed by injection a resin into a cavity in a mold adjacent a wooden sheet and curing. See [0110-124]. The wooden sheet is bonded to a member. See [0127].
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim 10 is is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over US 2022/0111620 (SUGIYAMA ET AL).
The applied reference has a common assignee/applicant with the instant application. Based upon the earlier effectively filed date of the reference, it constitutes prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2). The reference discloses the wood sheet as described in the above 102 rejection. It is recognized that the reference does not specify the color of the support layer to thermoplastic shape conforming layer. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to color the layer. One would be motivated by the reasoned expectation of obtaining a laminate with the desired design aesthetic, i.e. choosing to add a pigment to a resin is known.
This rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 might be overcome by: (1) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(a) that the subject matter disclosed in the reference was obtained directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor of this application and is thus not prior art in accordance with 35 U.S.C.102(b)(2)(A); (2) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(b) of a prior public disclosure under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(B); or (3) a statement pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) establishing that, not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention, the subject matter disclosed and the claimed invention were either owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person or subject to a joint research agreement. See generally MPEP § 717.02.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELIZABETH EVANS MULVANEY whose telephone number is (571)272-1527. The examiner can normally be reached 8am-4:30pm M-F.
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, Mark Ruthkosky can be reached at 571-272-1291. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ELIZABETH E MULVANEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1785