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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-4, in the reply filed on 06/22/2026 is acknowledged. Claims 5-15 have been withdrawn from consideration as being directed towards the non-elected invention.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “wherein the plurality of fibers are bundled by the fixing part, and both longitudinal ends thereof are not aligned, and when 300 fibers are randomly extracted from the plurality of fibers and the extracted 300 fibers are placed in order of length, in a range of 50th to 250th fibers counting from longer ones, a difference in length between adjacent fibers is 3 cm or less, and a number of fibers having a same length is 30 or less.” At least two types of groups are claimed including a first fiber group and a second fiber group that are fixed by the fixing part. The methodology recited for determining the arithmetic mean and relative length requires extrusion of 300 fibers. However, 300 fiber or more has not been positively recited in the claim. It is unclear if the claim requires at least 300 fibers in the first group or in the second group or is it in total? Also, it is not clear as to how to measure the range of 50th to 250th fibers.
In claim 2, it is unclear what is meant by “wherein a length of a longest fiber among the plurality of fibers is 10 cm or more, and a difference between the length of the longest fiber and a length of a shortest fiber is 3 cm or more, the plurality of fibers include an intermediate fiber in addition to the longest fiber and the shortest fiber, the intermediate fiber is shorter than the length of the longest fiber by 1 cm or more and longer than the length of the shortest fiber by 1 cm or more, and a length in a longitudinal direction of the fiber bundle for artificial hair is longer than the length of the longest fiber.” Longest length is 10cm or more so the shortest fiber at most can only be 3 cm or more? Please provide clarity on this.
Claims 3-4 are rejected as being dependent on a rejected base claim.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-4 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 14-18 of copending Application No. 18/605,583 (USPUB 20240306749A1). Claims dated 06/30/2026 were used for analysis. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the instant claims and copending claims are obvious variants of each other. Both the instant claims 1-4 and Claims 14-18 of 18/605,583 require fiber bundles for making artificial hair; both require that the fiber bundles are gathered with a plurality of fibers both required different lengths within the bundles and a difference in length also within the same bundle and therefore obvious variants of one another.
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
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.
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over USPN 10,945,478 to Jhin et al.
Regarding claims 1-3, Jhin et al., teach making fiber bundles that are used for artificial hair. The bundled synthetic braiding hair can include a first bundle of synthetic hair and a second bundle of synthetic hair strands. Other bundles with different lengths can be included as well. The first bundle and the second bundle can have different lengths and can be bundled at a common center, or alternatively can have a common length and can be bundled with their centers offset by a predefined distance. A binder can be coupled about a waist of the bundled synthetic braiding hair. When the bundled synthetic braiding hair is folded about the binder, the different strand lengths work to define a substantially cardioid shaped perimeter of the bundled synthetic braiding hair. [abstract]
The fiber bundles include a plurality of fibers (strands) and a fixing portion (binder reference number 301) which are fixed together the middle portions of the plurality of fibers. The fixing portion serves equivalent to Applicant’s intermediate portion.
The plurality of fibers are bundled by the fixing portion, and the two longitudinal direction ends of the fibers are not aligned with one another.
The longest fiber among the plurality of fibers has a length of 10 cm or more (e.g., 60 inches), the difference between the length of the longest fiber (60 inches) and the length of the shortest fiber (54 inches) is no less than 3 cm.
The plurality of fibers includes an intermediate fiber (58 inches, 56 inches) besides the longest and shortest fibers, and the intermediate fiber is shorter than the longest fiber by 1 cm or more and longer than the shortest fiber by 1 cm or more (see fig. 1-3).
The longitudinal-direction length of the fiber bundle for artificial hair is longer than the length of the longest fiber (see fig. 1-3).
See column 4, line 40 to column 5, line 31.
A person skilled in the art could have chosen, as appropriate, to form the fiber bundle for artificial hair using fibers such that, when 300 fibers randomly extracted from a plurality of fibers have been arranged in order of decreasing length, the difference between the lengths of adjacent fibers within a range from the 50th to 250th fibers counted in order of decreasing length is 3 cm or less, and the number of fibers of the same length is 30 or less.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over USPN 10,945,478 to Jhin et al. in view of US Pre Grant Publication 2009/0260649 to Sakurai.
Jhin, above, remains relied upon for claim 1.
Jhin is silent to the fiber being crimped. Sakurai teaches artificial hair wherein the fibers are crimped by heat [0016] making colored artificial made from fiber bundles with different fiber lengths. The abstract of Sakurai teaches wherein the fiber bundle includes fibers (A1, B1) of two or more kinds having color tones different from each other, Jhin and Sakurai are analogous art in the both references disclose artificial hair made from fibers of different lengths. One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention would have the fibers of Jhin crimped so that the dyed effect of the color would exhibit a gradient tint.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CAMIE S THOMPSON whose telephone number is (571)272-1530. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30 am - 5:30 pm.
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/CAMIE S THOMPSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1786
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