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 .
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.
(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) 1, 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kakinuma USPA_20160178916_A1.
1. Regarding Claims 1, 11, Kakinuma discloses a decorative plastic (corresponds to claimed plastic material) such as polypropylene and polyurethane (paragraph 0062; corresponding to claim 11’s limitation) molded article has an outer appearance of metallic color like and a display of a character, a graph or a symbol; wherein a body (corresponds to claimed substrate) of the molded article has a plate-like portion; the plate-like portion has a first surface and a second surface; a small concave and convex portion is formed on the second surface; the small concave and convex portion has a plurality of inclined surfaces (corresponds to claimed bumps and recesses) (Abstract), that are arranged alternately (figures). Said decorative plastic molded article can be used as a cap (corresponds to claimed patch) for a cosmetic container (paragraph 0052); wherein said cap (corresponds to claimed patch) has a first and second surface opposite thereof (figures). Furthermore, Kakinuma discloses that injection molding can be used (paragraph 0023). Lastly, the concaves and convexes with said inclined surfaces (corresponds to claimed bumps and recesses) will inherently provide a coupling ability.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 2-9 and 12-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kakinuma USPA_20160178916_A1, as applied to Claims 1 and 11.
2. Regarding Claims 2, 17, Kakinuma discloses a strip (Fig.1a, element 3b) and also shows the convexes and concaves being adjacent to one another.
3. Regarding Claims 3, 18, Kakinuma discloses a linear structure (Fig. 1A).
4. Regarding Claims 4, 19, Kakinuma discloses its convexes and concaves running through the entire length of the patch in the length direction (Fig. 1a).
5. Regarding Claims 5, 20, Kakinuma discloses providing a strip at an edge of the periphery (Fig. 1A; element 3b).
6. Regarding Claims 6, 14-16, Kakinuma discloses the claimed arrangement (Fig. 1A, 1B).
7. Regarding Claim 7, Kakinuma discloses a plane surface (Fig. 3A, element 3a).
8. Regarding Claims 8, 9, Kakinuma discloses a symbol on a first surface (Fig. 17B).
9. Regarding Claim 12, Kakinuma discloses using PU as mentioned above, and as such, it would be expected for it to inherently possess the same properties being claimed.
10. Regarding Claim 13, Kakinuma discloses a mold for manufacturing the afore-described (paragraph 0023).
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kakinuma USPA_20160178916_A1, as applied to Claims 1 and 11, and in view of Ha USPA_20100031971_A1.
11. Regarding Claim 10, Kakinuma does not disclose using leather.
12. Ha discloses a cosmetic container (Title) that can use leather or plastic resins (Claim 4).
13. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the plastic material on a cosmetic container, of Kakinuma, by trying leather, as disclosed by Ha. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated in trying other alternative equivalents to plastics out of a desire for optimization.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TAHSEEN KHAN whose telephone number is (571)270-1140. The examiner can normally be reached Mondays-Saturdays 08:00AM-10:00PM.
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/TAHSEEN KHAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1781 July 13, 2026
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