DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
2. 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.
3. Claims 17-31 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.
Regarding claim 17, there are several limitations which are vague, indefinite, and/or lack antecedent basis. For example, the limitation “and by” in line 10 is unclear, as it is not clear as to what is being referred to and what this limitation means. In line 11, the limitations “the second flexible plate” lacks antecedent basis. In lines 14-19, the claim variously refers to “a surface”, “a surface (3)”, and “the surface”. It is not clear if these are different surfaces, the same surface, and which surface is being referred to by “the surface”.
Dependent claims 18-31 inherit the deficiencies of parent claims 17 through their dependencies, and are thus rejected for the same reasons.
Claims allowable over the Prior Art
4. The closest prior art of record, Langford (US 2015/0125846 A1) discloses a flexible board system with a backside layer 14, whiteboard substrate 13 or coating layer 12 and outer layer 17 (see Fig. 1). However, Langford and the other prior art of record does not disclose or reasonably suggest the combination of features in claim 17, including a first magnetic flexible sheet, a second flexible sheet connected to the rear face of the first sheet, the first sheet having a thickness of .20 to .33 mm and covered by a coating composition, a plurality of connection elements including permanent magnet components connected to a male connector, the male connector configured to connect with a female connector on the surface, a plurality of orifices on the second sheet, and wherein said second magnetic component is configured to fit into the first orifice and connect to the rear surface of the sheet by magnetic attraction.
Conclusion
5. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See attached PTO-892.
6. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PETER EGLOFF whose telephone number is (571) 270-3548. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday Eastern.
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/Peter R Egloff/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715
Prosecution Insights