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 .
Application Status
Claims 1-8 are pending, Claims 1-7 have been examined in this application. Claim 8 is withdrawn as being drawn to a non-elected invention.
Information Disclosure Statement
As of the date of this action, no information disclosure statement has been filed on behalf of this case.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention I, claims 1-7 in the reply filed on 02/18/2026 is acknowledged.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 3-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by (US 5491927 A) to Ortiz.
In regards to claim 1, Ortiz anticipates a fishing lure assembly comprising: a head assembly having at least one eye (Ortiz; eye 8), a shank (Ortiz; the shank of 6, 10) and a barb (Ortiz; barb at the end of 10) including an insert assembly comprised of a plurality of curved conical sections (Ortiz; 34, 20, 22 and keeper 24 with conical sections, see embodiment in FIG 14); a body assembly (Ortiz; flexible lure body 26) including a cavity assembly comprised of a plurality of curved conical sections (Ortiz; cavity inside of 26 for receiving 24, 22); wherein, said insert assembly is constructed and arranged to interlock with said cavity assembly (Ortiz; see FIG 3 where the cavity inside 26 interlocks with 24 to hold it in place).
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In regards to claim 3, Ortiz anticipates the fishing lure assembly of claim 1, wherein said insert assembly and said cavity assembly are geometrically similar (Ortiz; see FIG 3 where the cavity inside 26 is geometrically similar to the insert of 24, 22 to retain it in place), constructed and arranged to allow near constant pressure across the surface area where said insert assembly and said cavity assembly mesh together (Ortiz; see FIG 3; the construction of the cavity inside 26 with the insert of 24, 22 allows near constant pressure across the surface area).
In regards to claim 4, Ortiz anticipates the fishing lure assembly of claim 1, wherein said body assembly is comprised of an elastic material (Ortiz; flexible lure body 26), constructed and arranged to stretch to conform to the geometry of the insert assembly when force is applied to assemble the fishing lure (Ortiz; the lure body 26 is made of a flexible material, thus would be constructed to stretch to conform to the geometry of 24, 22 when force is applied to push it into place within the body of the fishing lure).
In regards to claim 5, Ortiz anticipates the fishing lure assembly of claim 1, wherein said head assembly is comprised of a rigid material (Ortiz; fishing hook wire 8, 6, 10 rigid material to maintain its shape and catch fish).
In regards to claim 6, Ortiz anticipates the fishing lure assembly of claim 1, wherein said insert assembly is molded to said shaft (Ortiz; product by process; see FIG 3 where 22, is molded about the shaft of 6).
In regards to claim 7, Ortiz anticipates the fishing lure assembly of claim 1, wherein said head assembly is integrally formed (Ortiz; fishing hook wire 8, 6, 20 being an integral piece, see FIG 3).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (US 5491927 A) to Ortiz in view of (US 20250261621 A1) to Stefan.
In regards to claim 2, Ortiz teaches the fishing lure assembly of claim 1, but fails to explicitly teach wherein the insert assembly is larger than the cavity assembly.
Stefan teaches wherein the insert assembly is larger than the cavity assembly (Stefan; the cavity formed by the hook 36 puncturing through 50; is smaller than the insert assembly 20, 25 which deforms the bait around the insert [0024]).
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the lure body bore/cavity of a smaller size than the insert assembly such as taught by Stefan. The motivation for doing so would be to be able to deform the lure around the insert assembly such that it provides greater resistive force when retaining the insert assembly within.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20080168700 A1 to Kim teaches a fishing tackle with a bore in the body of the lure, an insert assembly with a plurality of conical segments, and a hook with an eyelet, shank, and barb.
US 20230210099 A1 to Pierce teaches a hook with a shank, eyelet, and barb, a fishing lure with a body and a cavity accommodating triangular retaining members on 35.
US 10398135 B1 to Morales teaches an insert assembly with conical segments within a cavity of the fishing lure.
US 4791749 A to Stazo teaches an insert assembly around a fishing hook with a shank, a barb, and an eyelet extending into a cavity of a fishing lure.
US 3611614 A to Ward teaches an insert assembly with conical segments inside a bore of a fishing lure around a shank of a hook with a barb and an eyelet.
US 20130318859 A1 to Kusmerz teaches conical segments about an insert assembly inserted into a cavity of a lure.
US 8365459 B2 to Bennis teaches an insert with segments retaining within a channel of a lure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KATELYN T TRUONG whose telephone number is (571)272-0023. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday: 8-6.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, KIMBERLY BERONA can be reached at (571) 272-6909. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KATELYN T TRUONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3647
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