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 .
Response to Amendment
In the amendment dated July 8, 2026, claims 1, 2, 6, and 10 were amended, and new claims 11-13 were presented. Claims 1-13 are pending.
The amendments to the claims overcome the claim objections and rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b).
Applicant’s arguments regarding the 35 U.S.C. 103 rejections of the claims over Racine in view of Lu have been fully considered but they are not persuasive for these reasons:
Regarding Applicant’s assertion that Racine does not disclose “when the closure element closes the container, the smooth axial portions and the frontal surface of the neck of the container are at least partially received in the groove of the sealing element and defined therewith a radially inner interference region, a radially outer interference region and a frontal interference region, said radially inner interference region and radially outer interference region having an at least partial overlap in projection on the longitudinal axis” (Remarks at p. 9), the examiner disagrees. Racine discloses the neck is received in the groove of the sealing element and the sealing element deforms, forming interference regions (col. 7, ll. 12-40). The portion of the sealing element that is deformed by edges 8 and 37 will project at least partially in the longitudinal direction (see Fig. 7; col. 7, ll. 12-40). Thus, the structure of the closure element of Racine reads on claim 1.
Regarding Applicant’s assertion that “it cannot be said that the inner face 5 [of Racine] and the outer face 6 of the neck 4 deform – or even physically contact – the beads 26, 36 in any way… the inner face 5 and outer face 6 taught by Racine do not contact, act upon, and deform the beads 26, 36” (Remarks at pp. 10-11), the examiner disagrees. The claims do not require that the inner and outer faces deform the sealing element. The sealing element of Racine is deformed by edges 8 and 37 of the neck, which one of ordinary skill in the art would understand to have a portion of each interference region overlap in projection on the longitudinal axis as claimed.
Regarding Applicant’s assertion that “a person of ordinary skill in the art would not be motivated to modify Racine with the cellulose material described by Lu in response to the technical problem solved by claim 1” (Remarks at p. 11), the examiner disagrees. The problem addressed by the structure of claim 1 is not relevant. “The reason or motivation to modify the reference may often suggest what the inventor has done, but for a different purpose or to solve a different problem. It is not necessary that the prior art suggest the combination to achieve the same advantage or result discovered by application” (MPEP 2144(IV)).
Regarding Applicant’s assertion that “Lu is silent as to the impact on dimensional stability by ambient moisture and/or water contained in the cosmetic product. Therefore, a person of ordinary skill in the art would lack the requisite motivation to modify Racine with the features of Lu to solve this problem” (Remarks at pp. 11-12), the examiner disagrees. The reason for the modification of Racine with Lu is taught in Lu. Any impact on dimensional stability is not relevant, as it is not part of the claims. “The reason or motivation to modify the reference may often suggest what the inventor has done, but for a different purpose or to solve a different problem. It is not necessary that the prior art suggest the combination to achieve the same advantage or result discovered by application” (MPEP 2144(IV)).
Regarding Applicant’s assertion with respect to claim 4 that Racine does not disclose a chamfer and “all embodiments taught by Racine lack a comparable specific feature” to the chamfer described in Applicant’s specification (Remarks at p. 12-13), the examiner disagrees. The shape of the inner and outer skirts of Racine has a chamfer, as shown in Fig. 7. The particular purpose of the chamfer that Applicant asserts “to promote the introduction and the gradual clamping of the portion of the neck” is not relevant. Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
Claim Objections
Claims 10 is objected to because of the following informalities:
The claim markup (i.e., underlining and strikethrough) does not show all of the changes made to the claim. For example, “a” before “plastic material” in line 2 was added, but is not shown with underlining (see 37 CFR 1.121(c)).
Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pat. 6,581,793 to Racine (hereinafter, “Racine”) in view of CN-109502127 to Lu et al. (hereinafter, “Lu”).
Regarding claim 1, Racine discloses a cosmetic product packaging assembly (assembly with cap 1 and container neck 4 is capable of holding a cosmetic product, see e.g., col. 1, ll. 5-10; col. 4, ll. 27-35; Figs. 1-7) comprising: a container (container having neck 4, see Fig. 7) extending along a longitudinal axis (axis 11, Fig. 2) between a bottom (bottom of container having neck 4; see e.g., col. 4, ll. 27-35) and a neck (neck 4, Fig. 7), a peripheral wall connecting said bottom to said neck (col. 4, ll. 27-35), said neck (neck 4) defining an opening (annotated Fig. 7 below) and having a radially inner surface (inner face 5, Fig. 7) and a radially outer surface (outer face 6, Fig. 7) that are connected by a frontal surface (transverse face 7, Fig. 7) extending in the radial direction (radial relative to axis 11, see Fig. 7), said outer surface (outer face 6) being provided with an axial joining portion (portion with threads 9, see Fig. 5), and said inner surface (inner face 5) and said outer surface (outer face 6) each having a smooth axial portion (annotated Fig. 7) connected to the frontal surface (transverse face 7, see Fig. 7); a closure element (cap 2, Figs. 2, 7) comprising a plate (annotated Fig. 7) intended to extend orthogonal to the longitudinal axis (plate 7 extends orthogonal to axis 11, see Fig. 7) when the closure element (cap 2) closes the container (container having neck 4) and having an upper surface (annotated Fig. 7) and a lower surface (annotated Fig. 7), and a fastening skirt (skirt 13, Figs. 2, 7) extending perpendicularly from the lower surface (annotated Fig. 7) of the plate (annotated Fig. 7) to a frontal surface (surface at edge 16, Fig. 2), said fastening skirt (skirt 13) comprising a radially inner surface (inner face 14, Figs. 2, 7) and a radially outer surface (annotated Fig. 7) that are connected by the frontal surface (see Fig. 2), said inner surface (inner face 14) being provided with an axial joining portion (portion with threads 15, Figs. 2, 7) designed to cooperate with the axial joining portion (portion with threads 9) of the outer surface (outer face 6) of the neck of the container (neck 4, see col. 4, ll. 59-62); wherein the lower surface (annotated Fig. 7) of the closure element (cap 2) is provided with a sealing element (seal 3, Figs. 2, 7) comprising a base (annotated Fig. 7) having an upper surface (face 28, Fig. 7) and a lower surface (face 30, Fig. 7), a radially inner sealing skirt (second bead 36, Fig. 7; col. 7, ll. 34-40) and a radially outer sealing skirt (first bead 26, Fig. 7; col. 7, ll. 34-40), said base (annotated Fig. 7) and said sealing skirts (beads 26, 36) defining a groove (annotated Fig. 7), and wherein, when the closure element (cap 2) closes the container (container with neck 4), the smooth axial portions (annotated Fig. 7) and the frontal surface (transverse face 7) of the neck of the container (neck 4) are at least partially received in the groove (annotated Fig. 7) of the sealing element (seal 3; col. 7, ll. 34-40) and define therewith a radially inner interference region (interference region formed at edge 37, Fig. 7; col. 7, ll. 34-40), a radially outer interference region (interference region formed at edge 8, Fig. 7; col. 7, ll. 34-40) and a frontal interference region (interference region at transverse face 7, see Fig. 7; col. 34-40), said radially inner interference region (interference region formed at edge 37) and radially outer interference region (interference region formed at edge 8) having an at least partial overlap in projection on the longitudinal axis (see Fig. 7).
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Racine Annotated Figure 7
Racine does not expressly disclose wherein at least the neck of the container comprises a cellulose material.
Lu teaches a product packaging container that may be used for cosmetics (p. 2, ll. 4-8 of attached translation). Lu teaches a container extending along a longitudinal axis between a bottom and a neck (see Fig. 1). Lu teaches the neck defines an opening and has radially inner and outer surfaces (Fig. 1). Lu teaches an axial joining portion (Fig. 1) on the outer surface of the neck that is threaded to be joined to a closure element (p. 2, ll. 19-24). Lu teaches the container, including the neck, is formed from a single material that comprises a cellulose material (p. 2, ll. 35-42; see also Fig. 1). Lu teaches that the cellulose material may comprise bamboo, for example (p. 3, ll. 23-26). Lu further teaches that including a cellulose material in the container neck improves the toughness and elasticity of the container material (p. 3, ll. 23-26).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the packaging assembly of Racine to form the container, including the neck, of a material that comprises a cellulose material as taught by Lu for the purpose of improving the toughness and elasticity of the container material, as recognized by Lu (p. 3, ll. 23-26), and because it has been held that the selection of a known material based on its suitability for its intended use supports a prima facie obviousness determination (MPEP 2144.07).
Regarding claim 2, Racine does not expressly disclose the overlap in projection on the longitudinal axis of the radially inner interference region and radially outer interference region has an axial length greater than or equal to 2 mm.
Racine teaches that the seal forms inner and outer interference regions that overlap in the longitudinal direction by the neck deforming the sealing element to form an effective fluid seal (col. 3, ll. 7-9; col. 7, ll. 34-40).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the packaging assembly of Racine to have the overlap in projection of the inner and outer interference regions be at least 2 mm because it has been held that a mere change in size or relative dimensions is not patentably over the prior art where the claimed dimensions would not perform differently than the prior art device (MPEP 2144.04(IV)(A)).
Regarding claim 3, Racine further discloses the axial joining portion (portion with threads 9) of the outer surface (outer face 6) of the neck of the container (neck 4) and the axial joining portion (portion with threads 15) of the inner surface (inner face 14) of the fastening skirt (skirt 13) of the closure element (cap 2) are threaded portions (col. 4, ll. 59-62).
Regarding claim 4, Racine further discloses one and/or the other of the inner sealing skirt (second bead 36) and outer sealing skirt (first bead 26) of the sealing element (seal 3) has/have a chamfer (annotated Fig. 7) flaring toward the outside of the groove (see annotated Fig. 7).
Regarding claim 5, Racine further discloses the base (annotated Fig. 7) of the sealing element (seal 3) is in the form of a disk or ring (see e.g., Fig. 2; col. 4, ll. 50-51), of which the upper surface (face 28) extends facing the lower surface (annotated Fig. 7) of the plate (annotated Fig. 7) of the closure element (cap 2).
Regarding claim 6, Racine further discloses the sealing element (seal 3) is manufactured separately from the closure element (cap 2; see Figs. 2, 7; col. 7, ll. 21-25) and subsequently fastened thereto (col. 7, ll. 21-25) in a removable manner (seal 3 is capable of being removed).
Regarding claim 7, Racine further discloses the closure element (cap 2) is made of a first material (col. 4, ll. 52-53) and the sealing element (seal 3) is made of a second material (col. 5, ll. 56-58), which is different from the first material (see col. 4, ll. 52-53; col. 5, ll. 56-68; see also Figs. 2, 7).
Regarding claim 8, Racine further discloses the sealing element (seal 3) is attached to the closure element (cap 2) by overmolding (see col. 5, ll. 56-60; col. 7, ll. 21-25; Note – “by overmolding” is a product-by-process limitation – see MPEP 2113).
Regarding claim 9, Racine as modified by Lu already includes the cellulose material (Lu, p. p. 3, ll. 23-26) of which at least the neck of the container is made comprises paper, cardboard, paper pulp, cardboard pulp, bamboo or a bamboo derivative or else bagasse, a fibrous residue derived from sugarcane, or a mixture of these materials (Lu, p. 3, ll. 23-26).
Regarding claim 10, Racine further discloses the sealing element (seal 3) is made of a plastic material (col. 5, ll. 56-59).
Regarding claim 11, Racine as modified by Lu already includes a majority of the container comprises a cellulose material (Lu, p. 2, ll. 35-42).
Regarding claim 12, Racine as modified by Lu already includes all of the container comprises a cellulose material (Lu, p. 2, ll. 35-42).
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Racine in view of Lu as applied to claim 10 above, and in further view of U.S. Pub. 2008/0272083 to Druitt (hereinafter, “Druitt”).
Regarding claim 13, Racine in view of Lu does not expressly disclose the plastic material is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, an elastomer material, or mixtures thereof.
Druitt teaches a similar packaging assembly comprising a closure element (closure 1, Figs. 1-4) for a neck of a container (Figs. 1-4). Druitt teaches a lower surface of the closure element is provided with a sealing element (sealing liner 8, Figs. 3-4). Druitt teaches the sealing element may comprise polyethylene (para. [0012]). Druitt further teaches that the sealing element is formed from a softer plastic material than the closure element so that it forms a seal with the neck of the container (para. [0012]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the packaging assembly of Racine/Lu to form the sealing element from polyethylene as taught by Druitt because it has been held that the selection of a known material based on its suitability for its intended use supports a prima facie obviousness determination. (MPEP 2144.07).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 LAURA E. PARKER whose telephone number is (571)272-6014. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nathan Jenness can be reached at 571-270-5055. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LAURA E. PARKER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3733
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