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 .
Applicant’s response of August 14, 2026, including amendment to the specification and election, has been reviewed. Election of Group I was made without traverse in the reply filed on August 14, 2026. Groups II-III have been withdrawn from further consideration by the examiner, 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being for the nonelected design.
Objection to the Specification/Title
The title, hanging for lamp, is objected to. The title of the design identifies the article in which the design is embodied by the name generally known and used by the public and may contribute to defining the scope of the claim. See MPEP § 1504.04, subsection I.A. See Curver Luxembourg, SARL v. Home Expressions, Inc., 938 F.3d 1334, 1340, 2019 USPQ2d 341902 (Fed. Cir. 2019) ("[I]dentifying the article of manufacture serves to notify the public about the general scope of protection afforded by the design patent"). For clarity, the title, and each occurrence of the language of the title, must be amended throughout the application, original oath or declaration excepted. Acceptable titles include hanging lamp or light fixture.
Correction is required.
Objection to the Drawings
FIGS. 2.1-3.6 must be cancelled as being for a nonelected design.
Rejection 35 USC 112
The claim is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and (b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, first and second paragraphs, 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 (or, for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant) regards as the invention.
The claim is indefinite and nonenabling because the exact shape and appearance of the lamp cannot be understood due to the inconsistencies in the disclosure.
FIG. 1.4 is shown with a red shading that is not shown in any other views. The color is not described in the specification and is not shown in the other views. The inclusion and purpose of the color in only this figure is unclear.
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FIGS. 1.5-1.6 appear inconsistent with the other views in terms of overall shape which appears much more hexagonal and sharply pointed. The texture of the lamp appears smoother in FIG. 1.5 and more textured in FIG. 1.6.
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FIG. 1.5 includes wires and additional features that are not shown in other views. The shape, appearance, and spatial relationships of these features and surfaces cannot be understood from this top view. The contour and depth of the surfaces are not shown.
FIG. 1.6 includes interior features that are considered indefinite and nonenabling. These features are not sufficiently shown. The placement, shape, appearance, contour, and spatial relationships are not clearly shown.
As a possible means of overcoming this rejection, applicant may submit
replacement drawings that show the lamp consistently throughout the views.
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.
Conclusion/Contact Information
The claim is rejected as set forth above.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANGELA LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-4453. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Friday from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Richard Kearney, can be reached on 571-272-8312. 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.
/A. J. L./
/Angela J Lee/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2933
