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 .
Applicant’s Response
The response dated 01/30/2026 (hereinafter referred to as “Applicant’s Response”) has been received and entered into the electronic case file. Counsel for the applicant’s comments and remarks have been carefully considered.
Status of Specification Objection(s)
The amendments made to the Specification in the Applicant’s Response act to overcome the previously given objection. Therefore, the objection to the Specification given in the last office action has been withdrawn.
Status of Rejection(s) under 35 USC § 112(a) and (b)
The amendments made to the reproductions in the Applicant’s Response act to overcome part (1) and portions of part (2) of the of the previously given rejection(s).
The Examiner notes however, that the Applicant’s amendments have not addressed portions of part (2) of the previous rejection presented in the Non-Final Office Action dated 11/24/2025. Therefore, the rejection under 35 USC 112(a) and (b) given in the last office action is maintained.
Objection to the Reproductions
(1) The amended reproductions received on 01/30/2026 are objected to because they do not meet the formal requirements of Hague Agreement Rule 9 and Part Four of the Administrative Instructions. See 37 CFR 1.1026. Pursuant to Administrative Instruction 405, "[w]hen the same industrial design is represented from different angles, the numbering shall consist of two separate figures separated by a dot (e.g., 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, etc. for the first design, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, etc. for the second design, and so on)." See MPEP 2920.04(b).
The reproductions should be amended to remove the language “FIG.” from the views and comply with the numbering requirement noted above.
In any attempt to overcome the rejection by submitting new or replacement reproductions, see information in the Drawing Resubmission Requirements section below, regarding proper submission of new or amended reproductions and avoidance of new matter.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
The amendments made to the reproductions in the Applicant’s Response act to partially overcome the previously given rejection(s). The following rejection was not overcome, as set forth below, and the rejection under 35 USC 112(a) and (b) given in the last office action is repeated and made FINAL.
(1) The claim is again and FINALLY rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and (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
The claim is non-enabling and indefinite due to limited views of the features shown on the freight and shipping container on the rear and bottom sides, which renders the exact appearance of the claimed design impossible to determine. Reproductions 1.3 and 1.7 have been annotated below to illustrate the features that are only shown in their respective views (see grey-annotated portions of the reproductions). The exact appearance of these features cannot be determined with only one view. It is impossible to know whether the grey-annotated surface in amended 1.3 and 1.7 are protruding or recessed relative to the adjacent surfaces, without the use of conjecture. Additionally, if some of these surfaces are recessed, it is impossible to know to what depth these surfaces are recessed since there are no other views of these surfaces.
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To overcome this 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and (b) rejection, Applicant may disclaim the areas or portions of the design which are considered indefinite and non-enabling in the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and (b) above.
The Examiner notes that matter, such as environmental structure or portions of the "article," which is shown in a reproduction but for which protection is not sought may be indicated by a statement in the description and/or by means of dotted or broken lines or coloring in the reproduction. See MPEP 2920.04(b), 37 CFR 1.1026 and Hague Agreement Administrative Instruction 403.
In any attempt to overcome the rejection by submitting new or replacement reproductions, see information in the Drawing Resubmission Requirements section below, regarding proper submission of new or amended reproductions and avoidance of new matter.
Drawing Resubmission Requirements
When preparing new or replacement drawings, be careful 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
Accordingly, the claim stands refused, rejected under 35 USC 112(a) and (b), as set forth above.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Correspondence with the USPTO
Reply Reminder
Applicant is reminded that any reply to this communication 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 the applicant. If the applicant is a juristic entity, the reply must be signed by a patent practitioner. See 37 CFR 1.33(b).
Discussion of the Merits of the Application
All discussions between the applicant and the examiner regarding the merits of a pending application will be considered an interview and are to be made of record. See MPEP 713. The examiner will not discuss the merits of the application with applicant’s representative if the representative is not registered to practice before the USPTO. Appointment as applicant’s representative before the International Bureau pursuant to Rule 3 of the Common Regulations under the Hague Agreement does NOT entitle such representative to represent the applicant before the USPTO. Furthermore, an applicant that is a juristic entity must be represented by a patent attorney or agent registered to practice before the USPTO. Additional information regarding interviews is set forth below.
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 TO/AIA /80 “Power of Attorney to Prosecute Applications Before the USPTO”, available at https://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. For acceptable ways to submit forms to the USPTO, see “When Responding to Official USPTO Correspondence” below.
Email Communications
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 “Responding to Official USPTO Correspondence” below. Se MPEP §502.03, subsection II for further information.
Responding to Official USPTO Correspondence
https://www.uspto.gov/patents/maintain/responding-office-actions
The USPTO transacts business in writing. All replies must be signed in accordance with 37 CFR 1.33(b). Pursuant to 37 CFR 1.33(b)(3), a reply submitted on behalf of a juristic applicant must be signed by an attorney or agent registered to practice before the USPTO. Applicants may submit replies to Office actions only by:
Online via the USPTO's Patent Center (Registered eFilers only) https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center
Mail: Commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA, 22313‐1450
Facsimile to the USPTO's Official Fax Number (571‐273‐8300)
Hand‐carry to USPTO's Alexandria, Virginia Customer Service Window
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.
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. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://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). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/J.Y./Design Examiner, Art Unit 2913
/IAN SIMMONS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2913
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