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
Acknowledgement
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority based on application CN202530034894.5 filed in China on 01/20/2025. It is noted, however, that the inventor(s) has/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.
Inventors’ Response
The instant application has been carefully considered in view of the inventor’s or joint inventor(s) amendment received. The drawing and specification objections in the office action dated 2/17/2026 have been overcome and are withdrawn. However, the amendments to the drawings, specifically 1.2, do not overcome the rejection of the claim under 35 USC §112 (a) and (b).
Page 3 of the applicant’s response includes the following statement that inaccurately refers to the claimed design with the title “Hair Dryer.”
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The amended specification correctly uses the title “Lid for drinking vessels” so the examiner is noting the discrepancy for clarity of record. Additionally, the broken line statement in the response letter is inaccurate by describing the meaning of the broken lines “for illustrative purposes only” but the broken line statement in the amended specification is accurate.
Drawing Objection
1) The reproductions in the response dated 05/08/2026 are objected to. The specification was amended to describe “the colors blue-magenta and blue-gray as shown in the drawings are ornamental surface coloring and form part of the claimed design” and the examiner understands that the color is part of the claim but there are two drawings filed in the response. One set includes 1.1 and 1.2 and is properly labeled with the header “REPLACEMENT SHEET” but the drawings are in grayscale. The second set is colored, does not include the “REPLACEMENT SHEET” header, and the reproductions are not in sequential order. To overcome, the examiner recommends filing a colorized version of 1.1 and 1.2. Reproductions 1.3 – 1.8 dated 03/28/2025 and 05/08/2026 are identical and may stay as presented. See rejection below for more information on 1.2.
Final Rejection: 35 U.S.C. § 112 (a) and (b)
The claim is 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 joint inventor(s) regard as the invention. Specifically:
In the previous office action dated 02/17/2026 features in reproduction 1.2 were identified as indefinite and non-enabled. Specifically, “the three-dimensional form (length/width/height) of the two outer-most feature lines and all the feature within them with arrows in the annotated illustration below without resorting to conjecture.”
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The limits of space and accuracy prohibited identifying every feature within the two outer-most features. All the features within the two outer-most features are indefinite and non-enabled. See the annotated illustration below using 1.2 dated 5/8/2026 identifying the “outer-most line” that was converted to broken line. All features within this now broken line are indefinite and non-enabled.
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To overcome, the examiner asks the inventor to consider converting the feature line identified with an arrow above and all features within it to broken line. Additionally, the broken lines used in the amended 1.2 do not have an adequate amount of space between the dashes to distinguish them from a solid line. Color should also be removed from the surfaces adjacent the broken lines because those surfaces are also indefinite and non-enabled. In other words, all colored surfaces within the circumference of the outer-most broken line should be replaced with white as not part of the claim.
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See example enlargement below on how to amend to overcome.
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If the inventor would like an informal review of a proposed set of replacement sheets before a formal response is filed, the examiner will accommodate the request as long as a Form PTO/SB/439 is in the application file prior to sending the proposed replacement sheets via email to: Steven.Reinholdt@USPTO.GOV
Alternatively, 1.2 can be cancelled from the drawing set to overcome. If 1.2 is cancelled, the figure labels in 1.3 – 1.8 must be amended as well as the figure descriptions and the broken line statement to reflect this change.
Due to these ambiguities in the disclosure, the scope of protection sought by the claim cannot be determined and therefore the claim fails to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter that the applicants regard as the invention and enable a designer of ordinary skill to reproduce the shape and appearance of the claimed design.
If corrected drawings are submitted in response to this Office action, they must be in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d). Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing dale of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either "Replacement Sheet" or "New Sheet" pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d).
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 includes an explanation of the change to the drawings.
All changes to the drawings should be explained in either the drawing amendment or remarks section of the amendment paper. See 37 CFR 1.121 (d). A marked-up copy of any amended drawing figure, including annotations indicating the changes made, must be provided with the response. See 37 CFR 1.121(d)(2).
If inventor(s) choose/s to amend the drawings and/or specification, the amendment must meet the written description requirement of 35 U.S.C. 112(a). It must be apparent that inventor(s) was/were in possession of the amended design at the time of original filing. When preparing new or replacement drawings, be careful to avoid introducing new matter prohibited by 35 U.S.C. 132(a) and 37 CFR 1.121(f). A response is required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. If corrected drawings are submitted in response to the Office action, they must be in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d).
Conclusion
The claim stands rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and (b), as set forth above. THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. The inventor/s is/are reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to the disclosure.
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.
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 1:00PM - 8:00PM 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.
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.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Center. 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).
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/S. BRYAN REINHOLDT JR./Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2921 5/12/2026
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