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 of traverse of Species XIII and claims 1-2,5-8,11-19, in the reply filed on 12/26/25 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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) 11-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vasilev et al. (2022/0211140—hereinafter, Vasilev).
Regarding claim 11, Vasilev discloses an article of footwear (fig.8), comprising: an upper (200/204); a sole structure (102) coupled to the upper; at least one receiver (106,206,108, fig.2) integrated into an exterior surface of the upper; a removable shield (104) configured to selectively attach to the at least one receiver (fig.1,3A-3C, 8), the removable shield comprising: an exterior surface (fig.1,3A-3C,4,8); an electronic display (112, par [0022]) integrated into the exterior surface; a memory module storing display data; a communication system (par [0026, 0019]) configured to receive signals from an external device; a processor (par [0026, 0019]) disposed within the article of footwear (see all figures and par [0017, 0045]; and par [0029, 0035]). But Vasiley does not explicitly disclose an operatively connected to the removable shield when attached through electrical contacts on the at least one receiver and corresponding electrical contacts on the removable shield, the processor configured to process the display data and control the electronic display based on the signals received from the external device and to read display parameters from the memory module through the electrical contacts to modify a visual theme of the electronic display. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to recognize that the system of Vasiley is configured to perform as the claimed invention, furthermore, in par [0018] states that the parts may include color, graphics, textures, etc. that may be customized. The screens may be screens in communication with a computing device over a data connection, including wired or wireless connections (e.g., Bluetooth®, WiFi, etc.) for receiving customizable content, including graphics, animation, and/or the like, for display with the screens; and see more information about connection between the equipment of the system, par [0036, 0044, 0047].
Regarding claims 12-19, Vasilev discloses the article of footwear of claim 11, wherein the electronic display comprises an electronic ink display or an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display (112, par [0022]); wherein the communication system comprises a wireless (par [0026]) communication protocol selected from the group consisting of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Near Field Communication (NFC); wherein the removable shield comprises an inductively charged power supply (par [0026, 0019]); wherein the external device is a smartphone configured to transmit visual content to be displayed on the electronic display (fig.10); wherein the removable shield comprises a sensor configured to detect movement of the foot, and the electronic display is configured to alter the displayed content based on detected movement (par [0045]); wherein the communication system is configured to allow the removable shield to display content associated with a non-fungible token (fig.10); wherein the processor is configured to modify the display content based on parameters stored in the memory module of the removable shield (fjig.10, par [0035]); wherein the at least one receiver includes electrical contacts configured to engage with corresponding electrical contacts on the removable shield (par [0026, 0047]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-2, 5-8 are allowed.
Response to Arguments
Notes: the Examiner did try multiple times to contact applicant/inventor for compact persecution but was unsuccessful.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 11-19 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground rejection as discussed above. Therefore, applicant’s arguments have not found persuasive.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TIMOTHY K TRIEU whose telephone number is (571)270-3495. The examiner can normally be reached 8-4.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Alissa Tompkins can be reached at 571-272-3425. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Timothy K Trieu/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3732
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