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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 8/3/2026 has been entered.
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) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Suzuki et al. (US 8,013,274).
Regarding claim 12, Suzuki et al. disclose a hair treating device comprising two hair treatment jaws (1, 3) that are movable relative to one another between a spaced-apart configuration for inserting hair to be treated between said jaws (1, 3) and a moved-together configuration for treating the hair, an external hair treatment member having at least one external surface (13) for heating the hair, which extends over one of the two jaws (1, 3) towards the exterior of the two jaws, at least one internal treatment member having an internal surface (11) for heating the hair to be treated, which extends over one of the two jaws towards the other of the jaws in the moved-together configuration of the two jaws and is configured to come into contact with the hair extending between the two jaws in the moved-tother configuration thereof (Fig. 2); a thermal protection cover (15) mounted removably by being clip-fastened (clip as defined by Merriam-webster as to hold in a tight grip) on the device so as to at least partially cover the external heating surface (13), the cover (15) having a recess (recess as defined by Merriam-Webster as an indentation; indents between 24) configured to form a preferential deformation zone of the cover (15) when it is fitted on the device (see Figures 1-6) wherein the device has a straightening configuration (Fig. 1) wherein the cover is mounted on the device so as to at least partially cover the external heating surface, and wherein the device has a curling configuration (Fig. 3) wherein the cover is removed of the device (col. 5, lines 10-15).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-5 and 7-11 are allowed.
Response to Arguments
Applicants’ arguments filed 8/3/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to applicant’s argument that Suzuki does not disclose a straightening configuration is not persuasive. Suzuki discloses a straightening configuration, col. 5, lines 5-10, “Furthermore, the present embodiment can be used in either case of straightening hair or curling hair”. One having ordinary skill in the art would recognize how to use the hair iron of Suzuki as a straightening device by placing hair in-between plates (11) and pulling down the length of the user’s hair.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RACHEL RUNNING STEITZ whose telephone number is (571)272-1917. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm EST.
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/RACHEL R STEITZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3772
9/18/2026
