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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention I (claims 1-6) in the reply filed on June 19, 2026, is acknowledged.
Claims 7-8 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Invention II (claims 7-8), there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on June 19, 2026.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) because reference characters "14" and "16" and “20” in Fig 1 have been used to designate the sheet.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper content of an abstract of the disclosure.
A patent abstract is a concise statement of the technical disclosure of the patent and should include that which is new in the art to which the invention pertains. The abstract should not refer to purported merits or speculative applications of the invention and should not compare the invention with the prior art.
If the patent is of a basic nature, the entire technical disclosure may be new in the art, and the abstract should be directed to the entire disclosure. If the patent is in the nature of an improvement in an old apparatus, process, product, or composition, the abstract should include the technical disclosure of the improvement. The abstract should also mention by way of example any preferred modifications or alternatives.
Where applicable, the abstract should include the following: (1) if a machine or apparatus, its organization and operation; (2) if an article, its method of making; (3) if a chemical compound, its identity and use; (4) if a mixture, its ingredients; (5) if a process, the steps.
Extensive mechanical and design details of an apparatus should not be included in the abstract. The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph within the range of 50 to 150 words in length.
See MPEP § 608.01(b) for guidelines for the preparation of patent abstracts.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 should read “An artificial eyelash system, comprising: a malleable, double-sided adhesive strip; and a sleeve being configured to carry the adhesive strip, the adhesive strip being configured for attachment to a false eyelash, [[ a combination of the adhesive strip and false eyelash being further configured for attachment proximate an eyelid.”, since the term “the combined” just been introduced in claim 1 line 4. Correction or clarification is required to overcome this issue.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claims 1-3 and 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee (US 20160324241 A2, hereinafter “Lee”).
Claim 1. Lee discloses an artificial eyelash system (abstract and Fig 1-13), comprising: a malleable, double-sided adhesive strip (¶0083, double sided adhesive strip 20); and a sleeve (Fig 6, kit 80) being configured to carry the adhesive strip (Fig 6. Kit 80 is capable to carry the adhesive strip 20), the adhesive strip (20) being configured for attachment to a false eyelash (70) (¶0083. The adhesive strip 20 is capable for attachment to a false eyelash), the combined adhesive strip and false eyelash being further configured for attachment proximate an eyelid (¶0083. the combined adhesive strip 20 and false eyelash 70 are capable for attachment proximate an eyelid).
Claim 2. Lee discloses the invention of claim 1. Lee further discloses a plurality of malleable, double-sided adhesive strips (20) arranged in rows and columns in the sleeve (Fig 4b).
Claim 3. Lee discloses the invention of claim 1. Lee further discloses the adhesive strip is formed from petroleum resins, styrene-isoprene copolymer (¶0079).
Claim 5. Lee discloses the invention of claim 1. Lee further discloses the adhesive strip (20) is substantially flat in appearance (Fig 1, (f)).
Claim 6. Lee discloses the invention of claim 1. Lee further discloses wherein the adhesive strip (20) defines a substantially rectangular shape in cross-section (Fig 2).
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 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee (US 20160324241 A2, hereinafter “Lee”).
Claim 4. Lee discloses the invention of claim 1, but silent to wherein the adhesive strip includes carbon black.
However, Lee further teaches the adhesive strip may have black color or various other colors (¶0101) so that the adhesive device for false eyelashes of this invention could be transparent or translucent with various colors including yellow, pink, black, purple and white, etc. This can be achieved by adding prescribed colors to the liquid adhesive prior to the manufacturing of the adhesive device (¶0101).
It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to have the adhesive strip including carbon black, since applicant has not disclosed that the carbon black solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose and it appears that the invention would perform equally well with the black adhesive strip of Lee’s artificial eyelash system. In this instance, including carbon black to the adhesive strip would provide a seamless blend with the user’s natural eyelash and hide gaps or residues between the user’s natural eyelashes and the false eyelashes.
Conclusion
Additional references were also reviewed during the examination of this application and listed for your reference in the notice of reference cited form.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KARIM ASQIRIBA whose telephone number is 571- 270-3416. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 8-5 pm.
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/KARIM ASQIRIBA/Examiner, Art Unit 3772
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