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
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 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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by user JKatfish of Wrangler Forum.
JKatfish teaches seat covers featuring attachment strap webbing.
Claim 1 – JKatfish teaches a seat for use with a vehicle(JKatfish Image 1 in the Wrangler Forum Non-Patent Literature shows a pair of seats), the seat comprising: a base (a portion of the seat’s base can be seen in JKatfish Image 2 in the Wrangler Forum Non-Patent Literature); an outer cover positioned over the base (JKatfish Image 2 in the Wrangler Forum Non-Patent Literature), the outer cover including at least one accessory portion comprising: at least one strap coupled to a seam of the outer cover (JKatfish Image 1 in the Wrangler Forum Non-Patent Literature, as well as described as “attachment straps” in JKatfish’s first post on April 5, 2012) and a securement component coupling the at least one strap to the outer cover (the straps can be seen as sewn to the cover in JKatfish Image 1 in the Wrangler Forum Non-Patent Literature).
JKatfish does not explicitly mention or show the seats comprising cushioning material. The vehicle used in the images is a Jeep Wrangler JK, model years 2007 to 2018. From the factory in that model year range, a Jeep Wrangler comes with seating comprising cushioning material. Therefore, it is inherent that the seats comprise cushioning material beneath the seat covers.
Conclusion
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/T.A.L./Examiner, Art Unit 3636
/DAVID R DUNN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3636
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