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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 07/28/2026 has been entered.
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.
Claim(s) 40 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by WARDLAW et al. (EP 3598913).
Regarding claim 40, WARDLAW et al. discloses a molded cushioning element for
a shoe (Fig.7) comprising:
a plurality of expanded particles fused together at interfaces between adjacent
particles [0089], Fig.7;
wherein the cushioning element comprises a first region (610, 710) and a second
region (620, 720);
WARDLAW et al. discloses the different deformation elements (first region and second region) have different particles of expanded materials that have different shapes, sizes, densities, and colors [0089]. Therefore, the interfaces between adjacent particles in the first region would inherently exhibit a first degree of fusion and the interfaces between adjacent particles in the second region would inherently exhibit a
second degree of fusion different from the first degree.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 29-39 allowed.
Conclusion
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STELLA YI
Examiner
Art Unit 1742
/STELLA K YI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1742
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