REFUSAL
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 .
Examiner Comment
The amendment received 05/19/26 has been acknowledged. Due to the corrections made to the present application, the reproduction objections have been overcome. However, although the applicant has included a broken line statement, the issue with lettering in solid lines inside the broken lines, as mentioned in the previous action, was not addressed. Therefore, the refusal under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) still stands as the claim remains indefinite.
Refusal under 35 U.S.C 112(b)
The claim is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which applicant regards as the invention.
As mentioned above, there is lettering in solid lines within the broken lines, which confuses the understanding of the scope of the claim. The present disclosure fails to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter that applicant regards as the invention. Specifically, it is unclear if only the broken lines are not being claimed, or if all surfaces and text within the broken lines are not being claimed, or if only the space between the broken line and solid text are not being claimed. The applicant must clarify the scope of the claim.
To overcome the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), it is recommended that the applicant amend the drawings to clearly distinguish the claimed and unclaimed subject matter, by converting solid lines to broken lines, or including a description in the specification defining the scope of the claim.
Refusal under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and (b)
The claim is 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 applicant regards as the invention.
Specifically, FIGS. 1.3, 1.5, 2.3, and 2.5 depict thick dark lines in the middle underside of the flip-top cap feature and inside of the sprout feature that cannot be clearly understood as the dark lines make the features in those areas difficult to decipher.
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727
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FIG. 1.5
FIG. 2.3
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Close up of FIG. 1.5
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Close up of FIG. 1.5
Because of the inadequate disclosure and poor quality of the lines, the claimed design is in fact subject to multiple interpretations, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be able to exactly understand how the present design gives form to a three-dimensional article without the use of conjecture. This renders the claim indefinite and non-enabled.
To overcome this rejection, it is suggested that applicant submit new drawings of the claimed design that show the design clearly and consistently. If certain non-enabled portions of the design cannot be fully enabled without the introduction of new matter, applicant may remove from the claim the areas or portions of the design that are considered indefinite and non-enabling by converting them to broken line and amending the specification to indicate those portions form no part of the claimed design.
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.
When preparing new or replacement drawings in compliance with the requirement, be careful to avoid introducing new matter. New matter is prohibited by 35 U.S.C. 132 and 37 CFR 1.121(f).
Conclusion
Accordingly, the claim stands refused under 35 U.S.C 112(b), as well as 35 U.S.C 112(a) and (b), as set forth above. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
Contact
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WOOSUK K SHIN whose telephone number is (703)756-1166. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri, 8:30am-5pm.
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, Wendy Arminio can be reached at (571) 270-0221. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/W.K.S./Examiner, Art Unit 2923
/KEVIN K RUDZINSKI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2911
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