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 .
Drawings
The drawings were received on January 29, 2025. These drawings are acceptable.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on January 29, 2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Watkins (US 6,523,490) in view of Hodges (US 5,313,907).
Watkins discloses a personal watercraft with an adjustable sponson, as shown in Figures 1-12, which is comprised of a personal watercraft, defined as Part #10, with a hull or body, defined as Part #14, a jet propulsion unit with a steering nozzle, defined as Part #36, and a sponson, defined as Part #12, that is provided on a first side of a rear portion of said hull or body, as shown in Figures 1-2.
Watkins, as set forth above, discloses all of the features claimed except for the use of a second sponson in combination with said sponson, where first and second sponsons are disposed on said hull or body of said personal watercraft in specific configurations.
Hodges discloses a boat with an external rail system, as shown in Figures 1-37, which is comprised of a boat with a hull, defined as Part #5, a first rail or sponson, defined as Part #23, 35, 47 or 57, that is provided on a first side of a rear portion of said hull, as shown in Figures 4-18, and a second rail or sponson, defined as Part #25, 37, 49 or 59, that is provided on said first side of said rear portion of said hull, where a lower surface of said second rail or sponson is disposed higher that a lower surface of said first rail or sponson, and a rear end of said second rail or sponson is disposed rearward of a rear end of said first rail or sponson, as shown in Figure 17. Said lower surface of said first rail or sponson is located below a waterline, defined as Part #17 in Figures 3-5, and said lower surface of said second rail or sponson is located above said waterline. A front end of said second rail or sponson is also disposed forward of said rear end of said first rail or sponson, as shown in Figure 17. An outward end of said second rail or sponson is disposed the farthest outward from a centerline of said hull at a same location is an outward end of said first rail or sponson, as shown in Figure 3. Said first and second rails or sponsons are oriented such that their front and rear ends are aligned horizontally with each other, as shown in Figure 17. Said first and second rails or sponsons are thus aligned parallel or substantially parallel to each other, as shown in Figure 17. Said first and second rails or sponsons can also be aligned at an angle or not parallel to each other, as shown in Figure 11. Said rear ends of said first and second rails or sponsons are also located forward of a transom that is positioned at a stern of said hull, as shown in Figure 17.
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to one of ordinary skill in the art, to utilize a boat with first and second rails or sponsons that are disposed on a hull of said boat in specific configurations, as taught by Hodges, in combination with the personal watercraft with an adjustable sponson for the purpose of providing a watercraft with additional sponsons that function as steering surfaces in order to facilitate the operation of said watercraft.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LARS A OLSON whose telephone number is (571) 272-6685. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday 8:00am - 4:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, MARC JIMENEZ can be reached at 571-272-4530. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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October 5, 2026
/LARS A OLSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615B
