DETAILED ACTION
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 Examiner acknowledges the Applicant's Response of 07/01/2026. The merits of the application have been carefully reconsidered in view of Applicant’s Remarks, Amendment and replacement drawings.
Response to Arguments
The amendment overcomes the objection to specification from the previous Office action, which is hereby withdrawn.
The replacement drawings effectively overcome the refusal under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and (b), which is hereby withdrawn. See Examiner’s Comment below.
EXAMINER’S COMMENT
The examiner's updated search following a first action on the merits yielded new prior art necessitating the new refusal under 35 U.S.C. 103, which is given below.
Claim Refusal - 35 U.S.C. 103
The claim is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Examiner's cited U.S. Patent Document “B”, U.S. Patent No. D1,127,262 (hereinafter ARTERIORS) in view of U.S. Patent Document “A” (PTO-892 dated 04/09/2026, pg 2), U.S. Patent No. D1,084,461 (hereinafter BOOTS).
Although the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in 35 U.S.C. 102, if the
differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a
whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a designer
having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains, the invention is not patentable.
The ARTERIORS design shows a ceiling light having design characteristics which are visually similar to those of the claimed design, that comprises a linear cylindrical armature with spherical, transparent light elements and narrow spacer elements between each sphere. The light fixture is oriented horizontally with the armature passing through the center of the light elements.
The claimed design differs from the ARTERIORS design in that the light elements are the same spherical shape and size, whereas ARTERIORS has light elements that vary slightly in size and proportion.
BOOTS teaches a ceiling light with spherical light elements that are the same shape and size.
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It would have been obvious to a designer of ordinary skill not later than the effective filing date of the claimed design to modify ARTERIORS with BOOTS by substituting the light elements of varied size and proportion of ARTERIORS with the light elements that are the same shape and size of BOOTS, because such a modification is no more than a simple substitution of known design elements (the substitution of light elements of the same shape and size replacing light elements of varied size and proportion). Moreover, such substitution of known design elements in the same field would have been within the skill of an ordinary skilled designer.
Conclusion
The claimed design is refused under 35 U.S.C. § 103, as set forth above.
The references not relied upon are cited as cumulative prior art.
Discussion of the Merits of the Case
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”, may be used for this purpose:
https://www.uspto.gov/patent/forms/forms-patent-applications-filed-or-after-september-16-2012
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 melissa.santos@uspto.gov to arrange a time and date for the telephone interview. Please include proposed days and times for the proposed call. When proposing a day/time for the interview, please take into account the examiner’s work schedule indicated in the last paragraph of this communication. 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 an official correspondence issued by the USPTO, including refusals, Ex Parte Quayles, Notice of Allowances, or Notice of Abandonments, please note the following:
The USPTO transacts business in writing. 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-online/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
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MELISSA A SANTOS whose telephone number is (571)272-9826. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Friday from 8:30 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Lakiya Rogers, can be reached on (571) 270-7145. 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. 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.
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.
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).
/MELISSA A SANTOS/Examiner, Art Unit 2934
