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 .
REMARKS
Election without Traverse
Applicant’s election, without traverse, of Group VII: Embodiment 7 (FIGs. 7.1-7.7) in the reply filed on March 7, 2025, is acknowledged.
Groups I-VI and VIII are withdrawn from further consideration by the examiner, 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being for the nonelected designs. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on March 7, 2025.
Objection – Title and Specification
The title is objected to. The title of a design being claimed must accurately indicate the name of the article claimed. See MPEP § 1503.01. The title referred to in the specification body, “Mug” is inaccurate. The examiner suggests the title of the design applied-for and the title of the design as referred to in the specification body both be amended to “Tumbler” (as in the figure descriptions and claim statement). The title must be amended throughout the application, oath and original declaration excepted.
Claim Rejection - 35 U.S.C. §112 (a) & (b)
The claim is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112 (a) & (b), as the claimed invention is not described in such full, clear, concise and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the same, and fails to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
FIG. 7.6 is indefinite. In particular, the central area of the bottom, shown in FIG. 7.6, is indefinite. The contours and dimensions of the central area of the bottom are unclear. The inner most claim lines in FIG. 7.6 should be converted to broken line. The lines touching the shading below should be converted to broken line.
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A broken line statement should be added. The examiner suggests: “The broken lines depict portions of the Tumbler that form no part of the claimed design.”
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When preparing new or replacement drawings, care should be taken to avoid introducing new matter. New matter is prohibited by 35 U.S.C. 132 and 37 CFR 1.121(f).
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. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as amended. If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency.
Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. If all the figures on a drawing sheet are canceled, a replacement sheet is not required. A marked-up copy of the drawing sheet (labeled as "Annotated Sheet") including an annotation showing that all the figures on that drawing sheet have been canceled must be presented in the amendment or remarks section that explains the change to the drawings.
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.
Conclusion
The claim stands rejected under 35 USC §112.
The references cited but not applied are considered cumulative art related to the claimed design.
A response is required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amendment submitted in response to this Office action must be in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Nader Abadir whose telephone number is (571) 272-9118. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 AM - 5:00 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, Rich Edgar can be reached at (571) 272-4816. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
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/N.A./
Examiner, Art Unit 2931
/RICHARD EDGAR/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2931