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
The amendment filed on 07/06/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-20 are currently pending in the application. Claims 1-11 have been previously withdrawn from further consideration. Claims 12-20 are being treated on the merits. Any rejection(s) and/or objection(s) made in the previous Office action and not repeated below, are hereby withdrawn due to Applicant's amendments and/or arguments in the response filed on 07/06/2026.
Claim Objections
Claim 20 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 20, lines 2-3, "the elastic yarn" appears to read "the at least one elastic yarn" for proper antecedent basis.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 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.
Claims 12, 17 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Anand (US 2012/0129416 A1).
Regarding claim 12, Anand discloses a knitted textile (a knitted fabric; fig. 2; para. 0050; claim 12) for an article of apparel or footwear (capable of being used for an article of apparel or footwear), comprising:
a first portion (auxetic component 30; fig. 2; para. 0050), which is auxetic (auxetic component 30; para. 0050) and has a first knit pattern of stitches (being laid in or closed loop stitches; figs. 2, 11, 18, 23; paras. 0071, 0089, 0099); and
a second portion (stabilising component 31 formed from relatively high modulus fibres; fig. 2; para. 0050), which is non-auxetic (formed from relatively low modulus, elastic, fibres; paras. 0052-0053) and has a second knit pattern of stitches (pillar stitches; see figs. 2, 11, 18, 23; paras. 0071, 0089, 0099) different from the first knit pattern of stitches (as discussed above; figs. 2, 11, 18, 23; paras. 0071, 0089, 0099), and wherein the second portion is knitted to the first portion (figs. 2, 11, 18, 23; paras. 0054, 0071, 0089, 0099).
Regarding claim 17, Anand discloses the knitted textile according to claim 12, and further discloses wherein the first portion is configured to be stretched along a wale direction when worn (see figs. 2-3, 11, 18, 23; paras. 0050, 0054), and wherein the second portion is adjacent to and knitted to the first portion to control stretch properties of the knitted textile (figs. 2, 11, 18, 23; paras. 0052, 0054, 0071, 0089, 0099).
Regarding claim 19, Anand discloses the knitted textile according to claim 12, and further discloses wherein the first portion further comprises at least one elastic yarn (the auxetic component is formed using fibres of relatively high modulus of elasticity; para. 0052; claims 12-13).
Status of Claims
Claims 13-16 and 18 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claim 20 is subjected to a claim objection but is free of prior art rejection.
As allowable subject matter has been indicated, applicant's reply must either comply with all formal requirements or specifically traverse each requirement not complied with. See 37 CFR 1.111 (b) and MPEP § 707.07(a).
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
As to claims 13-15, none of the prior art of record alone or in combination discloses, teaches or reasonably suggests wherein the first portion comprises a first essentially flat element and a first protruding element.
As to claims 16 and 18, none of the prior art of record alone or in combination discloses, teaches or reasonably suggests wherein the first portion comprising the recited stitch patterns.
As to claim 20, none of the prior art of record alone or in combination discloses, teaches or reasonably suggests wherein a first knitted row comprises the at least one elastic yarn and at least five consecutive knitted rows comprise a non-elastic yarn.
Response to Arguments
In view of Applicant's amendment, newly modified grounds of rejection have been identified and applied as necessitated by the amendment. Applicant's arguments with respect to the amended claims have been fully considered. Claims 12, 17 and 19 are still subjected to prior art rejections as discussed supra.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 AIYING ZHAO whose telephone number is (571)272-3326. The examiner can normally be reached on 8:30 am - 4:30 pm EST.
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/AIYING ZHAO/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3732
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