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 .
Drawings
The drawings were received on August 13, 2024. These drawings are acceptable.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on August 13, 2024 and April 1, 2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1-12, 16-17 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakatsuji et al. (US 2008/0110385 A1) in view of Kobayashi et al. (US 5,607,332).
Nakatsuji et al. discloses a water vehicle, as shown in Figures 1-10, which is comprised of a hull, defined as Part #11a, with a bow, a stern, and port and starboard sides, as shown in Figures 1-3, a deck, defined as Part #11b, with a planar surface portion, a seat support portion, defined as Part #12, and a front steering cowl portion, defined as Part #16, a centerline saddle seat, defined as Part #13, that is supported by said seat support portion, and a handlebar, defined as Part #15, that is disposed in front of said saddle seat. Said planar surface portion is further comprised of a planar bow surface having a recessed storage compartment, defined as Part #21, with a lid, defined as Part #22, that is movable between an open position, as shown in Figure 8, and a closed position, as shown in Figure 2, and a planar rear surface, as shown in Figure 3, that is disposed behind a rear edge of said seat support portion. A pair of parallel handrails, defined as Parts #25a-b, are attachable to said planar bow surface, as shown in Figures 1-2. A reboarding step, defined as Part #28, is attachable adjacent to said planar rear surface, as shown in Figures 3 and 5. Said planar bow surface is also fitted with a pair of drain grooves, defined as Parts #24a-b, as shown in Figure 2. Said planar rear surface is also fitted with a pair of drain grooves, defined as Parts #24c-d, as shown in Figure 3. Said planar surface portion is further comprised of said planar bow surface, said planar rear surface, and a planar gunwale surface, as shown in Figures 1-4, where said planar bow surface, said planar gunwale surface, and said planar rear surface all lie in substantially the same plane. A rear seat extension portion, defined as Part #14, is attached to said saddle seat, as shown in Figure 1, so that it is at least partially disposed above said planar rear surface.
Nakatsuji et al., as set forth above, discloses all of the features claimed except for the use of a deck having first and second lateral recesses that are disposed adjacent to a seat support portion of a watercraft.
Kobayashi et al. discloses a jet powered watercraft, as shown in Figures 1-8, which is comprised of a hull, defined as Part #12, a deck, defined as Part #13, with a passenger area, defined as Part #15, a pair of lateral foot recess portions, each defined as Part #26, that are disposed adjacent to a seat support portion, defined as Part #17, a centerline saddle seat, defined as Part #18, that is supported by said seat support portion, and a handlebar, defined as Part #19, that is supported by a front steering cowl portion, as shown in Figure 1. An engine, defined as Part #29, is controlled with a throttle lever, defined as Part #46, on said handlebar to drive a jet propulsion unit, defined as Part #31, as shown in Figure 2.
The use of a deck with a planar bow surface and a planar rear surface having specific dimensions would be considered by one of ordinary skill in the art to be an obvious design choice based upon a required size of space for supporting a desired load.
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to one of ordinary skill in the art, to utilize a watercraft having a pair of lateral foot recess portions that are disposed adjacent to a seat support portion, as taught by Kobayashi et al., in combination with the water vehicle as disclosed by Nakatsuji et al. for the purpose of providing a watercraft having a deck with means to support the feet of an operator in a position disposed below a planar deck surface.
Claims 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakatsuji et al. in view of Kobayashi et al., and further in view of Watkins (US 5,676,086).
Nakatsuji et al. in combination with Kobayashi et al. shows all of the features claimed except for the use of a deck with a planar rear surface having a recess and a hatch.
Watkins discloses a watercraft, as shown in Figures 1-6, which is comprised of a hull, defined as Part #22, with an upper deck portion, defined as Part #26, having a planar rear surface with a recess or storage container, defined as Part #188, and a storage cover or hatch, defined as Part #192, with a pair of hinges, each defined as Part #194, as shown in Figure 4. Said hatch is thus inherently configured to be opened, as shown in Figure 4, and closed, as shown in Figure 3.
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to one of ordinary skill in the art, to utilize a watercraft with a deck having a planar rear surface with a recess and a hatch, as taught by Watkins, in combination with the water vehicle as disclosed by Nakatsuji et al. and the teachings of Kobayashi et al. for the purpose of providing a watercraft having a deck with storage means disposed below a planar rear surface of said deck.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 15, 18 and 20 are 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LARS A OLSON whose telephone number is (571) 272-6685. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday 8:00am - 4:00pm.
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, MARC JIMENEZ can be reached at 571-272-4530. 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.
June 5, 2026
/LARS A OLSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615B
Prosecution Insights