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 .
Foreign Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Incorporation by Reference
This application incorporates by reference Taiwanese Design Application No. 112305271. Amendments of the claim may be based on the content of the incorporated material. However, with or without a specific amendment, it is understood that any material in the TW 112305271 application which is not present in the formal drawings and specification of this application forms no part of the claimed design.
Specification Objections
The Specification is objected to because of the following informalities:
(1) For additional clarity and to avoid confusion, the Examiner suggests amending the FIG. 9 description to more accurately describe what is being shown, such as:
-- FIG. 9 is a top view thereof, shown in an unfolded configuration. --
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.
(1) The claim is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Non-Patent Literature Document U (pg. 1): Jose Review (hereinafter referred to as “NPL_U1_Jose”), available from URL <https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R1EI5Z0M7B1POU/ref=cm_cr_getr_d_rvw_ttl?ie= UTF8>, in view of European Union Design Registration application EM 7234299-004 to Warrior Assault Systems Limited (hereinafter referred to as “Warrior Assault”).
Although the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in 35 U.S.C. 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 designer having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains, the invention is not patentable.
NPL_U1_Jose has design characteristics that are visually similar to those of the claimed design: a weighted vest having:
a front side and a back side, wherein each of the front and back sides has an outer surface and an inner surface;
the front side is connected to the back side with a left and right shoulder strap located near the top of the front and back sides; the left and right shoulder straps being fixedly connected to one another and the back side with a connecting portion;
the front side is also connected to the back side with a series of straps located on the left and right sides between the front and back sides;
the outer surface of the front side further comprises:
a rectangular shaped ring that is centrally located near the top, which connects a left and right fastening strip to each side of the ring;
the left and right fastening strips are attached to a left and right thin wire-like feature, wherein the thin wire-like feature extends into each of the right and left shoulder straps and ends at the top of the back side;
an upper panel having evenly spaced apart elongated slots, the slots arranged in an 8x5 matrix;
a lower panel comprising a flap which has three horizontal strap features located across the panel, and two attachment features located on the bottom of the panel which secure the lower flap panel to the front side;
the inner surface of the front side further comprises:
two attachment features located at the top on the left and right sides that releasably attaches each of the left and right shoulder straps, respectively, to the inner surface (see below annotated images from NPL_U1_Jose);
two upper cushion-like features which are shaped like quarter-circles (see below annotated images from NPL_U1_Jose);
two lower cushion-like features which are shaped like rectangles (see below annotated images from NPL_U1_Jose);
the outer surface of the back side further comprises:
an upper panel having evenly spaced apart elongated slots arranged in a matrix;
a lower panel comprising a flap which has three horizontal strap features located across the panel, and two attachment features located on the bottom of the panel which secure the lower flap panel to the back side;
the inner surface of the back side further comprises:
two upper cushion-like features which are shaped like quarter-circles
two lower cushion-like features which are shaped like rectangles;
the left and right shoulder straps having a securing strap which secures the wire-like feature to each of the shoulder straps, and an outer horizontal strap that is located near the front side of the shoulder strap;
the series of straps located on the left and right sides comprising:
three horizontal straps that extend from the lower flap panel of the front side to the lower flap panel of the back side; and
wherein a portion of the three horizontal straps located near the front side have five evenly-spaced apart vertical straps which extend around the three horizontal straps (see below annotated images from NPL_U1_Jose).
The Examiner notes that while there are small differences in some of the features of NPL_U1_Jose when compared to the claimed design, such as the textured appearance on the underside of the left and right shoulder straps, and the recessed portion for the wire-like feature, these differences are considered de minimis and do not affect the appearance of the claimed design as a whole, and have an insignificant impact on the overall visual impression of the weighted vest.
Images from NPL_U1_Jose
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CLAIMED DESIGN
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The claimed design differs from NPL_U1_Jose in that it has symmetric-like appearances of the outer surfaces of the front and back sides; smooth horizontal straps on the left and right sides; and no visible texture on the cushion-like features located on the inner surfaces.
Warrior Assault teaches a weighted vest having symmetric appearances on the outer surfaces of the front and back sides; three smooth horizontal straps located on the left and right sides between the front and back sides; and cushion-like features located on the inner surfaces that do not have a visible texture (see below annotated images of Warrior Assault).
Images from Warrior Assault
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It would have been obvious to a designer of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the present claimed invention to modify the NPL_U1_Jose design by showing symmetric-like appearances of the outer surfaces of the front and back sides; smooth horizontal straps on the left and right sides; and no visible texture on the cushion-like features located on the inner surfaces, as taught by Warrior Assault, since such a modification is no more than a simple substitution of one known design element for another. Moreover, such substitution of one known design element for another known design element in the field of weighted vests would have been within the skill of an ordinarily skilled designer.
Conclusion
The claim stands rejected under 35 USC 103, as set forth above.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JANE YOON whose telephone number is (571)272-8746. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday: 10 AM - 8:30 PM (EST).
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, IAN SIMMONS can be reached at (571) 272-2658. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/J.Y./Design Examiner, Art Unit 2913
/IAN SIMMONS/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2913
Prosecution Insights