The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Detailed Action
Inventor’s Response
The response of 02/28/2026 has been received and entered into the electronic case file. The merits of this case have been carefully considered in light of the inventor’s response. The amendments to the specification and drawing disclosure filed on 02/28/2026 have been noted. It is the examiner's position that the rejection of record under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and (b) within the office action dated 08/28/2025 has been overcome by inventor’s amendment and is hereby withdrawn. An action on the merits follows.
Acknowledgement of Foreign Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on application GB6284407, GB6284408, and GB6284409 filed in the United Kingdom of Great Britian and Northern Ireland on 05/19/2023. It is noted, however, that the inventors have not filed a certified copy of the application as required by 37 CFR 1.55. For more information on the meaning of certified copy, see MPEP 215. In the case of a design application, the certified copy must be filed by mail during the pendency of the application, unless filed with a petition under 37 CFR 1.55(g) together with the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(g), that includes a showing of good and sufficient cause for the delay in filing the certified copy of the foreign application. If the certified copy of the foreign application is filed after the date the issue fee is paid, the patent will not include the priority claim unless corrected by a certificate of correction under 35 U.S.C. 255 and 37 CFR 1.323.
Claim Rejection - 35 USC § 103 Non-Final
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 difference 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.
The claim is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over South Korea Patent Application No. 3020200026746(M001) dated 09/07/2021 (Foreign Patent Document “R” in the PTO-892 dated 08/28/2025) in view of Amazon Hubert dated 09/26/2019.
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, on 11/20/2023, to a designer having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains, the invention is not patentable. Additionally, the foreign priority has not yet been perfected. If the claim to foreign priority (dated 05/19/2023) was perfected, the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 would remain applicable.
South Korean Patent Application No. 3020200026746(M001) has an overall appearance with design characteristics that are visually similar to those of the claimed design. The similarities include:
A circular bottom and top base feature that are square in section
Three vertical equidistant support legs
The claimed design differs from the South Korean Patent Application No. 3020200026746(M001) in that the claimed design has square-shaped support legs and there is no surface illustrated within the circular top base. Independent of the square-shaped support legs and the “open” top, the main design as disclosed in the claimed design is also disclosed in the design of the South Korean Patent Application No. 3020200026746(M001).
PNG
media_image1.png
589
1442
media_image1.png
Greyscale
It would have been obvious to a designer of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing
date of the claimed design (11/20/2023) to modify the South Korean Patent Application No. 3020200026746(M001) with Amazon Hubert by removing the surface within the circular top base and adding square-shaped support legs because such modifications are ones that the ordinarily skilled designer’s experience, relativity, and common sense would employ which are also commonplace in the relevant field.
Conclusion
The claim stands rejected under 35 USC § 103. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to S. BRYAN REINHOLDT JR. whose telephone number is 571-270-3293. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday 11:00AM - 6:00PM EST. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, the inventor/s is/are encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
Telephonic or in person interviews
A telephonic or in person interview may only be conducted with an attorney or agent registered to practice before the USPTO (“registered practitioner”) or with a pro se applicant (an applicant who is the inventor and who is not represented by a registered practitioner).
The registered practitioner may either be of record or not of record. To become “of record”, a power of attorney (POA) in accordance with 37 CFR 1.32 must be filed in the application. Form PTO/AIA /80 “Power of Attorney to Prosecute Applications Before the USPTO”, available at
www.uspto.gov/patent/forms/forms-patent-applications-filed-or-after-september-16-2012, may be used for this purpose. See MPEP 402.02(a) for further information. Interviews may also be conducted with a registered practitioner not of record provided the registered practitioner can show authorization to conduct an interview by completing, signing and filing an “Applicant Initiated Interview Request Form” (PTOL-413A) (available at the USPTO web page indicated above). See MPEP 405.
Email Communications
If email communication is preferred, please email the examiner at steven.reinholdt@uspto.gov to arrange a time and date for the telephone interview. If both email and telephonic means are required, include preferred days and times for the proposed call. When proposing a day/time for the interview, please consider the examiner' s wok schedule indicated in the last paragraph of this communication. The email should also be used to determine who will initiate the telephone call.
The merits of the application will not be discussed via email (or other electronic medium) unless appropriate authorization for internet communication is filed in the application. Form PTO/SB/439 “Authorization for Internet Communications in a Patent Application or Request to Withdraw Authorization for Internet Communications” may be used to provide such authorization and is available at the USPTO web page indicated above. The authorization may not be sent by email to the USPTO.
For acceptable ways to submit the authorization form to the USPTO, see “When Responding to Official USPTO Correspondence” below. See MPEP 502.03 II for further information.
Visit www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov.
For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). For assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Jae Liang can be reached on 571-270-0229. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
/S. BRYAN REINHOLDT JR./Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2921
3/19/2026