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 .
Applicants are respectfully reminded that they and other individuals, as set forth in 37 CFR 1.56, have a duty to bring to the attention of the Office any material prior art or other information cited or brought to their attention in any related foreign application. See MPEP 2001.06(a).
The individuals covered by 37 CFR 1.56 have a duty to bring to the attention of the examiner, or other Office official involved with the examination of a particular application, information within their knowledge as to other copending United States applications which are “material to patentability” of the application in question. The individuals covered by 37 CFR 1.56 cannot assume that the examiner of a particular application is necessarily aware of other applications which are “material to patentability” of the application in question, but must instead bring such other applications to the attention of the examiner. See Dayco Prod., Inc. v. Total Containment, Inc., 329 F.3d 1358, 1365-69, 66 USPQ2d 1801, 1806-08 (Fed. Cir. 2003). For example, if a particular inventor has different applications pending in which similar subject matter but patentably indistinct claims are present that fact must be disclosed to the examiner of each of the involved applications. Similarly, the prior art references from one application must be made of record in another subsequent application if such prior art references are “material to patentability” of the subsequent application. See Dayco Prod., 329 F.3d at 1369, 66 USPQ2d at 1808. See MPEP 2001.06(b).
Election/Restrictions
Claims 6, 10-16, 20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species/invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 03/30/2026. Applicant’s election without traverse of Species A, figures 1-2, 4a, 6, claims 1-5, 7-9, 17-19 in the reply filed on 03/30/2026 is acknowledged.
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, 8, 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Stahlecker (US 9669987 B2).
Stahlecker discloses:
1. A container (figs 1-8) comprising: a bottom including a bottom panel portion (horizontal portion adjacent 24) and a downwardly folded annular skirt (vertical portion adjacent 24); and a sidewall (wall with 20/30) including an upper rim (adjacent 22) and a lowermost edge (bottom perimeter portions of 20/30) and forming a frustoconical shape (shapes in figs 1-8) around a central axis (center imaginary line); wherein an outer surface of the annular skirt is attached to an inner surface of the sidewall (as in fig 3b); wherein a lowermost edge of the annular skirt is spaced above the lowermost edge of the sidewall to form a first gap therebetween (such as shown in below figure with a gap).
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2. The container of claim 1, wherein the sidewall includes an inwardly folded hem formed from a lower portion of the sidewall being folded inwardly and against an inner surface of the sidewall (as in fig 2b adjacent 60/32).
3. The container of claim 2, wherein an inner surface of the annular skirt opposite the outer surface is an exposed surface and not attached to the hem (as shown in the above figure).
4. The container of claim 1, further comprising an inwardly folded hem at a lower end of the sidewall (as in fig 2b adjacent 60/32), wherein the hem includes an upper terminal edge positioned above the lowermost edge of the sidewall (as in fig 2b), and wherein the lowermost edge of the annular skirt is spaced above the upper terminal edge of the hem to form a second gap therebetween (gap between elements).
9. The container of claim 1, wherein the container is constructed from a paperboard material (abstract).
Claim(s) 17-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Robertson (US 11760529 B2)
Robertson discloses:
17. A stacked arrangement of containers (figs 1-9b), the stacked arrangement comprising:a first container (10a) comprising: a sidewall including an upper rim (side adjacent 12 and 34 with top) and a lowermost edge (at bottom) and forming a frustoconical shape around a central axis (shape in figs 1-9b), the frustoconical shape defining an interior volume (internal space); and a bottom including a bottom panel portion (Adjacent 18) and a downwardly folded annular skirt (adjacent 26), the downwardly folded annular skirt extending a first vertical distance below the bottom panel portion (as in fig 3), an outer surface of the annular skirt attached to an inner surface of the sidewall (as in fig 3); and a second container (10b including same features as provided above with 10a) comprising: a sidewall including an upper rim and a lowermost edge and forming a frustoconical shape around a central axis, the frustoconical shape defining an interior volume; and a bottom including a bottom panel portion and a downwardly folded annular skirt, an outer surface of the annular skirt attached to an inner surface of the sidewall, an outer surface of the annular skirt attached to an inner surface of the sidewall (10b including same features as provided above with 10a); wherein the first container is positioned within the interior volume of the second container and the lowermost edge of the sidewall of the first container contacts the bottom panel portion of the second container such that the second container supports the first container(such as in fig 4); wherein the upper rim of the first container is positioned a second vertical distance above the upper rim of the second container, wherein the second vertical distance is greater than the first vertical distance (as in fig 4).
18. The stacked arrangement of claim 17, wherein the second vertical distance is at least 1.5 times the first vertical distance (as in fig 4).
19. The stacked arrangement of claim 17, wherein the first container includes an outer sleeve surrounding and affixed to the sidewall of the first container, wherein an exterior of the outer sleeve of the first container contacts an interior of the sidewall of the second container (as in fig 4 such as adjacent 14).
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) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stahlecker.
Stahlcker may or may not disclose wherein the first gap is at least 0.1 inches, as the reference appears to be silent on dimensions. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the size/proportion because it has been held that a change in size proportion on the basis of its suitability for the intended use was an obvious extension of the prior teachings. In re Rose, 220 F.2d 459, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955) In Gardnerv.TEC Systems, Inc., 725 F.2d 1338, 220 USPQ 777 (Fed. Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 830, 225 USPQ 232 (1984), the Federal Circuit held that, where the only difference between the prior art and the claims was a recitation of relative dimensions of the claimed device and a device having the claimed relative dimensions would not perform differently than the prior art device, the claimed device was not patentably distinct from the prior art device.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 7 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 ANDREW D PERREAULT whose telephone number is (571)270-5427. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:00am-5:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anthony Stashick can be reached at (571)272-4561. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANDREW D PERREAULT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3735
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