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 .
Objection to the specification
Since there is only one named invention in the instant application, the Fig. 1description
should be amended to read as follows:
--Figure 1 is a perspective view of the card showing my new design;--
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
Applicant has claimed the design embodied in less than the entire card, in because the card shown in the drawings in the instant application, only a point is being claimed and the rest is shown in broken lines. The practice of claiming a design embodied in less than the entire article was confirmed in the decision of In re Zahn, 204 USPQ 988 (CCPA 1980). This practice also opens to the examiner the liberty of relying upon the features of a reference embodied in less than the entire article. The examiner has done so in the following rejection.
The claim is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Collette Ryan (hereinafter Ryan) (US Design Patent D779,834) because 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.
The appearance of Fig. 3 shown in the patent of Ryan (reproduced the annotated figure below) is substantially the same as that of the claimed design. See e.g., International Seaway Trading Corp. v. Walgreens Corp., 589 F.3d 1233, 1237-38, 1240, 93 USPQ2d 1001 (Fed. Cir. 2009) and MPEP § 1504.02.
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Conclusion
The references cited but not applied are considered cumulative art representative of the subject matter of the claimed design.
The claim stands rejected as discussed above.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the
Examiner should be directed to Abraham Bahta whose telephone number is
(571) 272-1532. The Examiner can normally be reached on Monday thru Friday
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telephone is unsuccessful, Supervisor Amber Stiles, can be reached at 571-
272-7611. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or
proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
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/ABRAHAM BAHTA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2913