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(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Port, U.S. Patent Application Publication 2015/0349700.
Regarding claim 1, Port discloses a solar module attachment system comprising: a short base (52b) having a fist body (64b) and a first slot (slot within flanges/sidewalls, see Fig. 5), wherein the first slot is formed on the first body at an angle (see Fig. 5); a tall base (52a) having a second body (64a) and a second slot (slot within flanges/sidewalls, see Fig. 4), wherein the second slot is formed on the second body at the angle (see Fig. 4); a first clamp assembly (nuts and bolts 68) configured to operatively couple to the first slot; a second clamp assembly (nuts and bolts 68) configured to operatively couple to the second slot, wherein the first clamp and the second clamp are configured to engage and retain a solar panel on the short base and the tall base at the angle (22. See Fig. 6C for example). The phrases “configured to operatively couple to the first slot,” “configured to operatively couple to the second slot,” and “configured to engage and retain a solar panel on the short base and the tall base at the angle” are statements of intended use of the claimed invention and must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim.
Conclusion
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GISELE D. FORD
Examiner
Art Unit 3633
/GISELE D FORD/Examiner, Art Unit 3633
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