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 .
Hague - 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 the applicant. If the applicant is a juristic entity, the reply must be signed by a patent practitioner. See 37 CFR 1.33(b).
Examiners Comment
Although NPL citation “U” appears similar to the claimed design, the reference was not publicly available prior to the filing date of the claimed design, and therefore has not been applied as prior art.
Priority Acknowledgement: No Certified Copy Submitted
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Great Britain on 11/27/2024.
It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the Great Britain application as required by 35 U.S.C. 119(b). The applicant bears the ultimate responsibility for ensuring that a copy of the foreign application is submitted on the record/electronically retrieved by the Office from the participating foreign intellectual property office.
For proper submission of a certified copy, Applicant is advised of the following:
An extract or a copy of the certificate of registration are NOT acceptable as a certified copy.
A certified copy of a foreign patent application pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 119 is NOT permitted to be filed using USPTO Patent Electronic System (formerly EFS Web/Private Pair), as it is improper (See Legal Framework for Patent Electronic System (23OCTOBER19); MPEP 502.05(I)(B)(2)(7)).
Applicant may submit a paper certified copy of the foreign application; OR, if the foreign priority is with a participating office, Applicant may request retrieval of the certified document via the WIPO DAS Electronic Priority Document Exchange (PDX) program (Further information available at: https://www.uspto.gov/patents/basics/international-protection/electronic-priority-document-exchange-pdx).
In the case of a design application, the certified copy must be filed 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.
Rejection 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 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 claimed design is indefinite and nonenabled because of numerous inconsistencies in the appearance of the claimed design throughout the views of the drawing disclosure.
The scope of the claim is illustrated inconsistently throughout Reps.1.1 through 1.4, specifically:
Figs. 1.1 and 1.2 do not show the bevel lines seen in Fig. 1.3.
The 2 circles showing the bevel in Fig. 1.3 is not shown in Fig. 1.4.
The 2 lines of the baseplate shown in Fig. 1.3 is not shown in Fig. 1.1.
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In order to overcome the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and (b), it is suggested that Applicant:
Amend the Figs. 1.1 through 1.4 to be consistently shown.
Per MPEP 2920.05(c), for clarity of the disclosure, Applicant is encouraged not to simply rely on a description to indicate matter shown in a reproduction for which protection is not sought, but rather to also identify the matter for which protection is not sought through the use of broken or dotted lines or coloring.
It is suggested that Applicant submit drawings which show the details of the design clearly and accurately without the addition of new matter (35 U.S.C. 132, 37 CFR 1.121). Applicant is reminded that if the surface shape is not evident from the disclosure as filed, the addition of surface shading or additional views after filing may constitute new matter (37 CFR 1.152(II)).
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 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 US PTO. 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 interviews
A telephonic may only be conducted with an attorney or agent registered to practice before the
USPTO ("registered practitioner") or with a prose 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
https:/ywww.uspto.gov/'patent,'forms/forms-patent-applications-fiied-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.
If a pro se applicant or registered practitioner located outside of the United States wishes to
communicate by telephone, it is suggested that such person email the examiner at Harold.Blackwell@uspto.gov to arrange a time and date for the telephone interview. Please include proposed days and times for the proposed call. The email should also be used to determine who will initiate the telephone call.
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
"When Responding to Official USPTO Correspondence" below. See MPEP 502.03 II for further
information.
When Responding to Official USPTO Correspondence
When responding to official correspondence issued by the USPTO, including a notification of refusal, please note the following:
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 Electronic Filing System-Web (EFS-Web) (Registered eFilers only)
https://www.uspto.gov/patents-application-process/applying-onIine/efs-web-guidance-and-resources
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
https://www.uspto.gov/patents-maintaining-patent/responding-office-actions
Conclusion
The claimed design is patentable over the references cited. However, a final determination of patentability will be made upon resolution of the above rejection.
The claim is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112 (a) and (b and 35 U.S.C. 112(b), as set forth above.
Contact InformationAny inquiry concerning this communication from the examiner should be directed to Harold E. Blackwell, II, whose telephone number is 571-272-7480, and whose work schedule is normally Monday-Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm. 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, Supervisory Primary Examiner, Justin Jonaitis can be reached on 571-270-5150 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 Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://www.uspto.gov/patents/process/status/private_pair/index.jsp. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/H.E.B/
Examiner, Art Unit 2916
/JUSTIN M JONAITIS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2924
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