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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 2/20/25 has been 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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2021/0376458 (HOLTZLEITNER ET AL).
Regarding claims 1 and 6: The reference discloses a laminate/method of producing the laminate comprising:
providing a transparent base substrate (See substrate 11 in Figure 1 and claim 1),
coating the base substrate with a transparent resin (See 17 in Figure 1 and claim 1),
applying a color layer on the base substrate on the surface facing away from the transparent layer where in passages and or recesses are formed in the color layer. See apertures/cutouts 19,19’ in Figure 1 and [0041] corresponding to passages and 2-D or 3-D formations in back-molded color layer in [0020] corresponding to recesses.
It is recognized that the reference does not specify that the color layer is a solid color. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to form the color layer in a solid color. The many different methods disclosed for applying the color layer (coating with laser removal, printing, coating with a mask, back-molding in [0016-20]) all allow for the user to select the specific color applied. One would be motivated by the expectation of a tailored end product.
Regarding claims 2-5 and 7-10: The reference does not disclose the passage/recess size or pattern. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to select the desired shape, pattern, size, etc. based on the methods of applying the color layer. Each method allows for the selective application of the color layer as stated in [0016-20]. One would be motivated by the expectation of controlling the coverage to achieve the desired decorative result.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELIZABETH EVANS MULVANEY whose telephone number is (571)272-1527. The examiner can normally be reached 8am-4:30pm M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mark Ruthkosky can be reached at 571-272-1291.
The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ELIZABETH E MULVANEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1785