Patent Application 18324517 - SHIRT WITH AFFIXED INTERIOR BRA

Title: SHIRT WITH AFFIXED INTERIOR BRA

Application Information

Invention Title: SHIRT WITH AFFIXED INTERIOR BRA
Application Number: 18324517
Submission Date: 2025-05-23T00:00:00.000Z
Effective Filing Date: 2023-05-26T00:00:00.000Z
Filing Date: 2023-05-26T00:00:00.000Z
National Class: 450
National Sub-Class: 031000
Examiner Employee Number: 95486
Art Unit: 3732
Tech Center: 3700

Rejection Summary

102 Rejections: 0
103 Rejections: 2

Cited Patents

No patents were cited in this rejection.

Office Action Text

DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on May 14, 2025 has been entered.
Status of the Claims
As directed by the amendment received on May 14, 2025, claims 1, 4, and 6 have been amended. Accordingly, claims 1-7 are currently pending in this application.
Response to Amendment
The amendments filed with the written response received on May 14, 2025, have been considered and an action on the merits follows. Any objections and rejections previously put forth in the Office Action dated January 15, 2025, are hereby withdrawn unless specifically noted below.
Information Disclosure Statement
Examiner notes that non-patent literature document “Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Nov 26;19(23):15765. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192315765” submitted by Applicant as “Exhibit A” in the response received on May 14, 2025 has not been considered. Applicant’s submission is not in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97, as an information disclosure statement (IDS) properly listing the non-patent literature document was not submitted by Applicant.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b)
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.

The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.

Claims 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing 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.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “wherein the underband and the rear support structure provide breast support” at lines 14-15. Due to the wording of the limitation, it is unclear if Applicant is attempting to recite a functional limitation of the underband and the rear support, or if the limitation requires that a user’s breast (which is not explicitly recited) be present to provide support thereto. Therefore, the metes and bounds of the claim are unclear, and the claim is rendered indefinite. It is suggested that the limitation instead read “wherein the underband and the rear support structure are configured to provide breast support”. For the purposes of examination, the limitation will be interpreted as best can be understood according to the suggested language above when applying prior art.
Claim 6 recites the limitation “wherein the underband and the D-shape configuration provide sufficient structure to support the wearer’s breasts” at lines 2-3. Due to the wording of the limitation, it is unclear if Applicant is attempting to recite a functional limitation of the underband and the D-shape configuration. Furthermore, it is unclear what amount of structure is considered “sufficient” structure. Additionally, there is insufficient antecedent basis for “the D-shape configuration” and “the wearer’s breasts” in the claim. Therefore, the metes and bounds of the claim are unclear, and the claim is rendered indefinite. It is suggested that the limitation instead read “wherein the underband and the rotated D-shape are configured to support a user’s breasts”. For the purposes of examination, the limitation will be interpreted as best can be understood according to the suggested language above when applying prior art.
Claims 2-5 and 7 are similarly rejected for being dependent on a rejected claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 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 person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.

Claims 1-2, and 5-7, as best can be understood, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Korean application publication KR20220101803 to Lee (hereinafter, “Lee”) in view of Australian application AU2019100688 to Zontos (hereinafter, “Zontos”).
Regarding claim 1, Lee teaches a garment having sleeves extending from a torso portion of the garment (See Lee, Fig. 1; shirt having sleeves (120) extending from body (130)), the torso portion having a chest portion, a back portion, and a neckline (See Lee, Figs. 1 ,3; body (130) includes front chest portion, back portion, and neckline 110); Examiner notes that the term "portion" is very broad and merely means "a section or quantity within a larger thing; a part of a whole" (Defn. No. 1 of "American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition" entry via TheFreeDictionary.com)), the garment having an interior surface with a built-in bra affixed to the interior surface, the built-in bra extending laterally across the chest portion, under the sleeves, and across the back portion (See Lee, Figs. 1-3; breast cover (200) affixed to interior surface of shirt and extending across chest portion, under sleeves, and across back portion), the built-in bra comprising: an underband encircling the torso portion (See Lee, Figs. 1-3; end (203) and rear part (220) form underband encircling torso potion), having a base that extends horizontally across the back portion and extending to the neckline (See Lee, Figs. 1-3; underband includes rear part (220) that extends horizontally across the back portion and extends to the neckline (110)); wherein the garment further comprises shoulders defined entirely by the torso portion (See Lee, Fig. 1; breast cover (200) is coupled at neckline (110) and absent at shoulders of shirt); and wherein the underband and a rear support structure provide breast support (See Lee, Figs. 1-3; underband and rear part (220) are capable of providing at least some support to a hypothetical user’s breasts; [0044]).
That said, Lee is silent to the underband branching to form a rotated D-shape and extending in a convex semicircle; wherein the convex semicircle meets at a central point at the neckline to define the rear support structure.
However, Zontos, in a related integrated bra garment art, is directed to a torso covering garment having a sports bra incorporated therein (See Lee, Figs. 1-3; abstract). More specifically, Zontos teaches underband branching to form a rotated D-shape and extending in a convex semicircle (See Zontos, Figs. 3; sports bra includes underband having a rear part with a central opening, wherein as a result of the opening, the underband branches to form a rotated D-shape, inasmuch as Applicant’s garment forms a rotated D-shape, said rotated D-shape having a horizontal base and a convex semicircle).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the invention to form a similarly shaped opening through the rear part of the underband of Lee as the one disclosed by Zontos, thereby forming a similar rotated D-shape and convex semicircle, for a variety of reasons including for example, but not limited to, reducing an amount of material required to form the garment and/or providing additional ventilation for a wearer wearing the garment. Furthermore, as a result of the above modification, the modified garment of Lee (i.e., Lee in view of Zontos, as discussed above) would further teach wherein the convex semicircle meets at a central point at the neckline to define the rear support structure (See Lee, Figs. 1-3; as the rear part (220) of the underband of Lee already extends up to a central point at the neckline, the now modified rear part having the opening disclosed by Zontos and thereby creating the convex semicircle would similarly meet at the central point at the neckline to define the rear support structure inasmuch as Applicant’s rotated D-shape structure and convex semicircle).
Regarding claim 2, the modified garment of Lee (i.e., Lee in view of Zontos, as discussed with respect to claim 1 above) further teaches a cup panel configured to cradle a user's breasts, wherein the underband is joined to a base of the cup panel (See Lee, Figs. 1-3; protective pads (230) are capable of cradling a user’s breasts; a base of protective pads (230) are joined at least indirectly to underband).
Regarding claim 5, although Lee teaches that the breast cover (200) is coupled to the neckline (110), Lee is silent to the type of coupling. Therefore, the modified garment of Lee (i.e., Lee in view of Zontos, as discussed with respect to claim 1 above) is silent to wherein the built-in bra is stitched to the interior surface of the garment.
However, Zontos further teaches wherein the built-in bra is stitched to the interior surface of the garment (See Zontos, abstract; sports bra is coupled via sewing into garment).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the invention to use sewing to couple the breast cover to the interior of the modified garment of Lee as disclosed by Zontos, as sewing is a long known and well-understood method of attaching garment pieces to one another.
Regarding claim 6, the modified garment of Lee (i.e., Lee in view of Zontos, as discussed with respect to claim 1 above) further teaches wherein the underband and the D-shape configuration provide sufficient structure to support the wearer’s breasts without cup elements (underband and the rotated D-shaped rear part of the modified garment of Lee as discussed above are capable of providing at least some support to a hypothetical user’s breasts without separate cup elements; See Lee, [0044]).
Regarding claim 7, the modified garment of Lee (i.e., Lee in view of Zontos, as discussed with respect to claim 1 above) further teaches wherein the underband has a continuous circumference (See Lee, Figs. 1-3; underband (203, 220) forms continuous circumference at bottom of breast cover (200)).
Claims 3-4, as best can be understood, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee in view of Zontos, as applied to claims 1-2 above, and further in view of USPN 10,743,591 to Cavosie (hereinafter, “Cavosie”).
Regarding claim 3, the modified garment of Lee (i.e., Lee in view of Zontos, as discussed with respect to claims 1-2 above) teaches two separate protective pads (230) but is silent wherein the cup panel has two cups joined at a center of the chest portion.
However, Cavosie, in a related integrated bra garment art, is directed to a brassiere having a built-in shaping, lifting, and support system (See Cavosie, Figs. 1-3; abstract). More specifically, Cavosie teaches wherein the cup panel has two cups joined at a center of the chest portion (See Cavosie, Fig. 3; interior support layer (24) may be formed as a single piece wherein cups are joined at a center; Col. 10, lines 52-67).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the invention to form the protective pads of the modified garment of Lee as one piece joined at the center as disclosed by Cavosie for a variety of reasons including for example, but not limited to, aesthetic reasons for providing a smooth and desired overall appearance to the garment and bra combination (See Cavosie, Col. 9, lines 49-55), and further since it has been held that forming in one piece an article which has formerly been formed in two pieces and put together involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.04(V)(B).
Regarding claim 4, the modified garment of Lee (i.e., Lee in view of Zontos, as discussed with respect to claims 1-2 above) teaches two separate protective pads (230) but is silent to wherein the cup panel is formed as one piece with a first height at a center of the cup panel, the cup panel flaring to a second height in each lateral direction, wherein the second height is greater than the first height.
However, Cavosie, in a related integrated bra garment art, is directed to a brassiere having a built-in shaping, lifting, and support system (See Cavosie, Figs. 1-3; abstract). More specifically, Cavosie teaches wherein the cup panel is formed as one piece with a first height at a center of the cup panel, the cup panel flaring to a second height in each lateral direction, wherein the second height is greater than the first height (See Cavosie, Fig. 3; interior support layer (24) may be formed as a single piece wherein cups are joined at a center having a first height with a second, greater height flaring outward from the center; Col. 10, lines 52-67).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the invention to form the protective pads of the modified garment of Lee as one piece joined at the center and flaring outward as disclosed by Cavosie for a variety of reasons including for example, but not limited to, aesthetic reasons for providing a smooth and desired overall appearance to the garment and bra combination (See Cavosie, Col. 9, lines 49-55), and further since it has been held that forming in one piece an article which has formerly been formed in two pieces and put together involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.04(V)(B).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed May 14, 2025, have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to Applicant’s apparent argument that there is no motivation to modify the Lee garment to incorporate an underband that forms a D-shape across the back as taught by Zontos, Examiner respectfully disagrees. Examiner notes that Zontos is relied upon for teaching a central opening through the rear part of a built-in sports bra which when applied to the garment of Lee, as discussed in the current grounds of rejection above, forms the rotated D-shape and structure as claimed. Furthermore, as stated in the current grounds of rejection above, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the invention to form a similarly shaped opening through the rear part of the underband of Lee as the one disclosed by Zontos, thereby forming a similar rotated D-shape and convex semicircle, for a variety of reasons including for example, but not limited to, reducing an amount of material required to form the garment and/or providing additional ventilation for a wearer wearing the garment.
Examiner further notes that Applicant appears to argue different pressures exerted by each of Lee and Zontos based on as further support for Applicant’s claim that the modification is improper. Applicant included non-patent literature document “Exhibit A” as support for this argument which was not considered due to not being properly provided on an IDS (See Information Disclosure Document section above for additional discussion). That said, Zontos is only relied upon in the current grounds of rejection for teaching the presence of a central opening through the rear part of a built-in sports bra which when applied to the garment of Lee, as discussed in the current grounds of rejection above, forms the rotated D-shape and structure as claimed. Zontos was not relied upon for being capable of exerting a particular amount of pressure to a wearer, nor is any particular amount of exerted pressure recited in Applicant’s claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW R MARCHEWKA whose telephone number is (571) 272-4038. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:00AM-5:00PM EST.
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/MATTHEW R MARCHEWKA/Examiner, Art Unit 3732