DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . This is the initial office action based on the 19/365,907 application filed October 22, 2025. Claims 1-5 are pending and have been fully considered.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) dated October 22, 2025 is noted. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98. Accordingly, the IDS is being considered by the Examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities: while not an indefiniteness issue, Examiner suggests amending the third and fourth elements of the claim to read --a third frame having [[one]] a first end connected to a left portion of the first frame and [[the other]] a second end connected to a left portion of the second frame, and a fourth frame having [[one]] a first end connected to a right portion of the first frame and [[the other]] a second end connected to a right portion of the second frame-- to ensure clarity of the claim. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Elingsen (U.S. Patent No. 3,773,010).
Regarding Claim 1, Elingsen discloses an engine cover (12) configured to cover an engine (10) of an outboard motor, wherein engine cover (12) includes a left wall portion (14) configured to cover a left surface of the engine (see Figure 1), a right wall portion (15) configured to cover a right surface of the engine (see Figure 1), a front wall portion (65) configured to cover a front surface of the engine (see Figure 1), a rear wall portion (17) configured to cover a rear surface of the engine (see Figure 5), and an upper wall portion (18) configured to cover an upper surface of the engine (see Figure 1), wherein the front wall portion (65) is separably joined (see column 5, lines 26-28 and Figure 3 illustrating the front wall portion removed) to a portion of the engine cover including the left wall portion, the right wall portion, the rear wall portion, and the upper wall portion (see Figure 1).
Double Patenting
A rejection based on double patenting of the “same invention” type finds its support in the language of 35 U.S.C. 101 which states that “whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process... may obtain a patent therefor...” (Emphasis added). Thus, the term “same invention,” in this context, means an invention drawn to identical subject matter. See Miller v. Eagle Mfg. Co., 151 U.S. 186 (1894); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Ockert, 245 F.2d 467, 114 USPQ 330 (CCPA 1957).
A statutory type (35 U.S.C. 101) double patenting rejection can be overcome by canceling or amending the claims that are directed to the same invention so they are no longer coextensive in scope. The filing of a terminal disclaimer cannot overcome a double patenting rejection based upon 35 U.S.C. 101.
Claims 1, 2, and 5 are provisionally rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as claiming the same invention as that of Claims 1, 2, and 6 of copending Application No. 19/362,149 (reference application). This is a provisional statutory double patenting rejection since the claims directed to the same invention have not in fact been patented.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 2 is 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.
Claims 3-5 are similarly objected to but would be allowable based upon their dependency to Claim 2.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Specifically, various references are cited that provide detail of relevant outboard motor cowlings.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES G MOUBRY whose telephone number is (571)270-5658. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10AM - 6:30PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Lindsay M. Low can be reached at 571-272-1196. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GRANT MOUBRY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747
