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 an application EM015104856-0001 filed in the EUIPO on 05/2/2025. A certified copy of the priority document was entered into the application electronic file on 01/15/2026.
Specification Objection
The specification is objected to under 37 CFR 1.1067 for failing to provide reproduction descriptions. See MPEP 2920.04(a)(II). The description should indicate the type of view shown in the corresponding figure, such as "front view," "perspective view," "top view," etc. The descriptions of the figures are not required to be written in any particular format; however, they must describe the views of the reproductions clearly and accurately. See Hague Rule 7(5)(a) and 37 CFR 1.1024. For this reason, the specification must be amended to include independent reproduction descriptions following the indication of Design No./Product(s). The examiner recommends:
- - 1.1: Perspective view
1.2: Front view
1.3: Rear view
1.4: Left view
1.5: Right view
1.6: Top view
1.7: Bottom view - -
Claim Rejection - 35 U.S.C. § 112
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 joint inventors) regards as the invention.
1. Features in 1.3 are indefinite and non-enabled. Specifically, it is not possible to determine the complete three-dimensional form of the features without resorting to conjecture. See the annotated illustration and enlargements below with arrows identifying the indefinite features.
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To overcome, the examiner asks the inventor to consider disclaiming the features identified above according to Section 403: “Disclaimers and Matter That Does Not Form Part of the Industrial Design or the Product in Relation to Which the Industrial Design Is to Be Used”
(a) Matter which is shown in a reproduction but for which protection is not sought may be indicated (i) (ii) in the description referred to in Rule 7(5)(a) or by means of dotted or broken lines or coloring, accompanied by a supporting statement in the description referred to in Rule 7(5)(a).
2. Features in 1.4 are indefinite and non-enabled. Specifically, it is not possible to determine the complete three-dimensional form of the features without resorting to conjecture. See the annotated illustration and enlargements below with arrows identifying the indefinite features.
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To overcome, the examiner asks the inventor to consider disclaiming the features identified above according to Section 403.
3. Features in 1.7 are indefinite and non-enabled. Specifically, it is not possible to determine the complete three-dimensional form of the features on the bottom without resorting to conjecture. The features labeled A, B, and C are definite and enabled and can remain part of the claim. See the annotated illustration and enlargements below with arrows identifying the indefinite features.
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To overcome, the examiner asks the inventor to consider disclaiming the features identified above according to Section 403 except the features labeled A, B, and C.
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. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to inventor’s or joint inventors’ disclosure.
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 11:00AM - 6:00PM 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 http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
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 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
https://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.
Email Communications
If email communication is preferred, please email the examiner at steven.reinholdt@uspto.gov to arrange a time and date for the telephone interview. If both email and telephonic means are required, include preferred days and times for the proposed call. When proposing a day/time for the interview, please consider the examiner’s wok schedule indicated in the last paragraph of this communication. The email should also be used to determine who will initiate the telephone call.
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.
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).
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.
For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). For assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
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.
/S. BRYAN REINHOLDT JR./Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2921
9/19/2026
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