DETAILED OFFICE ACTION
Examiner’s Comment
Applicant’s Amendments received 06/18/2026 are hereby acknowledged.
The merits of this case have been carefully considered in view of Applicant’s Remarks/Amendments.
Election Without Traverse
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II (Embodiment 2, 2.1-2.8) in the reply filed on 06/18/2026 is acknowledged.
Group I is withdrawn from further consideration by the Examiner, 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being for a nonelected design(s).
Drawings
The drawings are objected to for the following reason(s):
In view of the election filed 06/18/2026, Reproductions 1.1-1.8 must be canceled from the disclosure.
Renumbering of the drawing figures is not required. To maintain consistency with the published International Registration, it is recommended that the numbering of the drawing figures included in the elected Group not be changed even if non-elected embodiments are cancelled. Any amendment to the drawing figures should comply with 37 CFR 1.1026 and Part Four of the Administrative Instructions (in particular, see Section 405 of the Administrative Instructions with respect to numbering of reproductions).
Corrected drawing sheets are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. 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. 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.
Claim Rejection – 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 the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The claim is indefinite and nonenabling because the exact appearance of the claimed article has not been definitively described due to a lack of consistency and quality of the drawing disclosure. See below.
A. The top strap in 2.2-2.5, 2.7, and 2.8 are inconsistent with 2.6. Specifically, the top portion of the strap appears as incomplete and blurred out in 2.2-2.5, 2.7, and 2.8. 2.6 shows a complete strap. One definite appearance of the strap has not been shown. See graphic below pointing to the incomplete/burred out portions.
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B. The buckle in 2.2 is inconsistent with 2.3, 2.4, and 2.7. Specifically, 2.2 shows the buckle as incomplete or blurred out due to a glare. 2.3, 2.4, and 2.7 shows a complete buckle. See example comparison graphic below with arrows pointing to the incomplete portion.
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Applicant may attempt to overcome this rejection by amending the photographic disclosure to show the claimed design consistently throughout the view.
The corrected drawings must not contain new matter (37 CFR 1.121, 35 USC 112(a)).
New matter is anything (structure, features, elements) which was not shown in the drawings as originally filed. It is possible for new matter to consist of the removal as well as the addition of structure, features or elements. Further, the clarification of drawings with poor line quality can introduce new matter.
Failure to submit replacement correction sheets overcoming all of the deficiencies in the drawing disclosure set forth above, or an explanation why the drawing corrections or additional drawing views are not necessary will result in the rejection of the claim under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and (b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, first and second paragraphs, being made FINAL in the next Office action.
Conclusion
The claim stands rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112(a) and (b).
The references cited but not applied are considered cumulative art related to the claimed design.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN PATRICK G RIBAY whose telephone number is 571-272-8050. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 10AM-6PM CST.
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).
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 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. For acceptable ways to submit forms to the USPTO, see "When Responding to Official USPTO Correspondence" below.
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, GEORGE BUGG can be reached on 571-272-2998. 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.G.R./
Examiner, Art Unit 2911
/GEORGE J ULSH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2922
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