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 .
Detailed Office Action
Election
In the paper received 08/11/2025, Applicant elects without traverse the design shown in Group I (Embodiment 1: Reproductions. 1.1-1.15). Accordingly, the design shown in Groups II-IV (Embodiments 2-4: Reproductions 2.1-2.14, 3.1-3.15, and 4.1-4.15 stand withdrawn, and the corresponding reproductions and figure descriptions are canceled from further prosecution. 37 CFR 1.142(b).
Foreign Priority
Acknowledgment is made of Applicant's claim for foreign priority based on Turkish Design Application No. TR2023/00711, filed 08/08/2023. Applicant has filed a certified copy of the E Turkish Design Application as required by 35 USC § 119(b).
Incorporation by Reference
This application incorporates-by-reference Turkish Design Application No. TR2023/00711, filed 08/08/2023. All material from the Turkish Design Application No. TR2023/00711 that is essential to the claimed design is included in this application. Amendments of the claim may be based on the content of the incorporated material. However, with or without a specific amendment, any material in Turkish Design Application No. TR2023/00711 that is not present in this application forms no part of the claimed design.
Reproductions
The following formal matters are noted:
The lines, numbers and letters are not uniformly thick and well defined, clean, durable and black. The line quality in all drawings is poor. There are a number of lines that are have breaks at curves or are incomplete. The lines appear pixelated, jagged and imprecise.
The line quality in all reproductions is poor. The lines appear pixelated, jagged and imprecise (“A”). The solid object lines blend, merge and appear to create areas of solid color (“B”). This may impact a clear determination of the form and structure of the design. The reproductions may be interpreted in ways other than Applicant intends. Further, the line weights of the claimed features are inconsistently illustrated (“C”). This concern occurs throughout the reproductions. Applicant is suggested to carefully scrutinize the entire disclosure for related issues as they prepare their formal reply. All drawings should be made by a process which will give them satisfactory reproduction characteristics. (See examples below.)
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Detail of Reproduction 1.7
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Detail of Reproduction 1.3
Any corrected reproductions submitted in response to this Office action must be compliant
with 37 CFR 1.121(d).
An amended replacement reproduction sheet should include all the reproductions appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one reproduction is amended. The reproduction (or
reproduction number) of an amended view should not be labeled as amended. If a reproduction is
canceled, that reproduction must be removed from the replacement sheet and the remaining reproductions and their related descriptions must be renumbered, as necessary.
Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining reproductions. If all the reproductions on a sheet are canceled, a replacement sheet is not required. A
marked-up copy of the sheet (labeled as "Annotated Sheet") including an annotation showing that all the
reproductions on that sheet have been canceled must be presented in the amendment or remarks section
that explains the change to the reproductions.
Each 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
Examiner, Applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action.
When preparing new or replacement reproductions , be careful to avoid introducing new matter. New matter is prohibited by 35 U.S.C. 132 and 37 CFR 1.121(f).
Specification
The specification is objected to as follows:
The title, “Inhaler”/ ”Inhalation Device”, is unclear because it is inconsistent in the application papers. MPEP 1503.01.I. The title of a claim must be directed to the name of the article in which the design is embodied or to which the design is applied, and may contribute to defining the scope of the claim. MPEP § 1504.04.I.A. See Curver Luxembourg, SARL v. Home Expressions, Inc., 938 F.3d 1334, 1340, 2019 USPQ2d 341902 (Fed. Cir. 2019). The verbiage is not entirely descriptive of the article of manufacture that is being claimed and may be interpreted in ways other than Applicant intends.
37 CFR 1.153 requires that the title must designate the particular article; Applicant is recommended to amend the title in view of the physical appearance of their claim. Therefore, for clarity and consistency, the title should be amended throughout the application, original oath or declaration excepted. This assertion is inclusive of the preamble, the figure description, the broken line statement and the claim statement.
Examiner suggests: -- Inhaler --, or another similar title.
The 8/11/2025 reproduction descriptions are numbered as “Fig. 1”, “Fig. 2”, “Fig. 3”…”Fig. 7”, and lack decimal points, which is unacceptable per Hague Administrative Instructions Section 405, per 37 CFR 1.1026 and MPEP 2909.02. Accordingly, for proper form the decimal points must be retained in the reproduction labels for consistency with the reproduction figures. As Applicants elected Group I, the elected reproduction descriptions must be renumbered as “1.1”, “1.2”… “1.7”, respectively. Examiner suggests:
--Fig. 1.1 Right
Fig.1.2 - Left
Fig. 1.3 - Front
Fig. 1.4 - Back
Fig. 1.5 - Top
Fig. 1.6 - Bottom
Fig. 1.7 – Right Front Perspective
Fig. 1.8 – Left Back Perspective
Fig. 1.9 – Right with cover in opened position
Fig. 1.10 -Left with cover in opened position
Fig. 1.11 - Front with cover in opened position
Fig. 1.12 - Back with cover in opened position
Fig. 1.13 - Top with cover in opened position
Fig. 1.14 - Right Front Perspective with cover in opened position
Fig. 1.15 - Left Back Perspective with cover in opened position. --
The Foreign Priority Claim description is in an improper location and should be relocated immediately before the reproduction descriptions. MPEP § 1503.02, subsection III.
The claim statement is not in formal terms because it improperly claims multiple “designS”, and the title is shown inconsistently. 37 CFR 1.153. For proper form, the claim statement must be amended.
Examiner suggests:
-- I claim: the ornamental design for an inhaler, as shown and described. –
To ensure cohesion within the disclosure, a clean copy of the entire specification document is requested with Applicant’s response. See In re Freeman, 109 O.G. 1904 C.D. 619, 23 App. D.C. 226 (1904).
Claim Rejection – 35 USC § 112
The claim is rejected under 35 USC § 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.
Specifically, the claim is indefinite and non-enabled because:
The exact appearance and three-dimensional configuration of some of the surfaces of the inhaler cannot be determined from the drawings, making the overall appearance of the claim unclear. These features are not shown elsewhere in the disclosure in enough detail to confirm their possible depth or probable dimension. Therefore, the appearance of these portions of the claim cannot be reproduced by one skilled in the art without resorting to conjecture. (See elements shaded in solid gray, below.)
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Reproduction 1.13
The precise depth and dimension of the elements shaded in solid gray cannot be determined.
The surfaces indicated may be recessed at differing depths, may be at varying curves or may be at multiple angles.
The peripheral edges of the indefinite portion is labeled with “B”.
To attempt to resolve this issue, Applicant may reduce “B” to equal-length broken line.
Additionally, Applicant may reduce all solid object lines “C” within the solid gray-shaded area to equal-length broken line.
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Detail of Reproduction 1.4
The precise depth and dimension of the elements shaded in solid gray cannot be determined.
The surfaces indicated may be recessed at differing depths, may be at varying curves or may be at multiple angles.
The peripheral edges of the indefinite portion is labeled with “B”.
To attempt to resolve this issue, Applicant may reduce “B” to equal-length broken line.
Additionally, Applicant may reduce all solid object lines “C” within the solid gray-shaded area to equal-length broken line.
Applicant may attempt to overcome this portion of the rejection by showing the claimed design completely and consistently. In doing, Applicant may amend the reproductions and/or Specification in response to this Office action. Applicant is cautioned that any reproduction amendments must show the claimed design, and its corresponding details, completely and consistently throughout all of the views. If Applicant chooses to remove from the claim any elements or portions of the design that are considered indefinite and non-enabling, Applicant must reduce them to legible, properly spaced broken lines. Lastly, Applicant is encouraged to compare the information in the Specification to ensure agreement with the reproductions.
The aforementioned solution suggests reducing indefinite and non-enabled portions (indicated above) to
equal-length broken lines. These new broken lines would depict those surfaces and elements as
unclaimed portions of the breast pump. Note that if broken lines are used to depict unclaimed portions of
the design, then the meaning and purpose of these broken lines must be properly described in the
specification, immediately preceding the claim statement. For clarity and proper form, Applicant may add
a broken line statement in the specification. Examiner suggests:
-- The broken lines in the drawings depict portions of the inhaler that form no part of the
claimed design. --
Any corrected reproductions submitted in response to this Office action must be in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d). The corrected reproductions must not contain new matter. 35 USC 132 and 37 CFR 1.121.
Refusal Reply Reminder
Applicant is reminded that any reply to this Refusal must be signed either by a patent practitioner (i.e., a patent attorney or agent registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office) or by Applicant. If Applicant is a juristic entity, the reply must be signed by a patent practitioner. See 37 CFR 1.33(b).
Conclusion
The claimed design stands rejected under 35 USC § 112(a)&(b).
The references cited but not applied are considered cumulative art related to the claimed design.
If Applicant's response to the requirements set forth above is incomplete or includes new matter,
Examiner may hold the reply non-responsive.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be
directed to Michael Hoffman whose telephone number is (571) 272-9850. The examiner can normally be
reached Monday-Friday 8:30am-5:30pm EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Holly Thurman, can be reached at (571) 272-8068. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/M. H./
Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2919
/Kendra Leslie Hamilton/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2915 10/06/2025