CTFR 17/902,404 CTFR 68314 DETAILED CORRESPONDENCE This Office action is in response to the amendment received March 10, 2026. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – 07-08-aia AIA (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. 07-12-aia AIA (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-23-aia AIA The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co. , 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1, 2, 4, 5, 7-17, and 22-39 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SATO et al (2018/0107112) in view of either FROMMELD et al (5,086,669) or STEPPAN et al (5,200,299) . The claimed invention now recites the following: PNG media_image1.png 440 688 media_image1.png Greyscale PNG media_image2.png 98 450 media_image2.png Greyscale PNG media_image3.png 314 672 media_image3.png Greyscale SATO et al report a photosensitive resin composition comprising a polymer comprising a carboxy group, seen in Table 3 on page 16 where a polymers A3 and A4 disclosed in para. [0182] and para. [0183], respectively are formulated in a composition shown here: PNG media_image4.png 408 784 media_image4.png Greyscale PNG media_image5.png 218 394 media_image5.png Greyscale The photopolymerization initiators formulated in the composition lack the use of a compound meeting the claimed compound β as recited in the dependent claims, however applicants are directed to in claims 3 disclosed in para. [0081] shown below: PNG media_image6.png 326 386 media_image6.png Greyscale The acridine compound is a compound which would meet the property characteristics as reported in claims as it is seen to be one of the compounds used in examples of the claimed invention. Claim 2 is met by the disclosure in para. [0183] for the Mw of the resin A4. Claims 3-11 are inherently taught for the same or similar copolymer reported in the SATO et al for polymers A3 and A4, above. With respect to compound β, it is noted that 9-phenyl acridine is a substituted aromatic compound having a pKa of 5.45 as reported in CAS online. Claims 12-15 for the content of the carboxy group is met by the copolymers reported in SATO et al wherein the acid value of the copolymer is reported in para. [0088] which is in the same range as disclosed by applicant. The relative permittivity would be inherent as the content of the carboxy group in the polymers of SATO et al are the same or similar in range to those in the current application as seen in the para above. Claims 16 and 17 are met by the content of the photopolymerization initiator content as seen in para. [0091] preferably 20 parts by mass or less to the component A. With respect to claim 17, the pKa of 9-phenyl acridine is cited above as 5.45 meeting the claimed range of 2.0 to 9.0 and inherently the number of structures is capable of accepting the electron would be expected to be 1 mol% or more as the photosensitive layer in SATO et al functions in the same or similar manner. FROMMELD et al (5,086,669) and/or STEPPAN et al (5,200,299) are cited to disclose the equivalence of the photoinitiators such as acridine and quinoline derivatives, see col. 2, line 53 – col. 3, line 55 in STEPPAN et al, below, PNG media_image7.png 316 390 media_image7.png Greyscale PNG media_image8.png 912 381 media_image8.png Greyscale In FROMMELD et al, see col. 4, lines 3-21, below: PNG media_image9.png 352 366 media_image9.png Greyscale New claims 22-27 are met by the disclose quinoline derivatives as disclosed in STEPPAN et al and FROMMELD et al above wherein those heterocyclic compounds have three aromatic rings and a nitrogen as a ring member atom. It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of photosensitive composition having a copolymer as reported in Examples 15-24 of Table 3 in SATO et al to use any of the photopolymerization initiators such as 9-phenyl acridine and/or quinoline derivatives as reported in STEPPAN et al and FROMMELD et al as reported above with the reasonable expectation of same or similar results for high developability, and protection of a sensor metal wiring with sufficient transparency . 07-27-aia AIA Claim (s) 1, 2, 4, 5, 7-17, and 22-39 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 ( a) (1 ) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over SUZUKI et al (2003/0054284 A1) . The amended claims have been disclosed above is included by reference. SUZUKI et al is cited to disclose a positive resist composition comprising an alkali soluble resin containing methacrylic acid repeating unit, a quinone diazide compound, a nitrogen-containing basic compound and a crosslinker. See page 12, Synthesis Examples 7, 11 , 12 and 13 wherein each of the examples report resins having methacrylic acid repeating units. On page 17, Table 5, Examples 18 and 19 are working examples comprising the resins 7 and 11, respectively, see below: PNG media_image10.png 448 630 media_image10.png Greyscale Applicants are further directed to para. [0288] to [0293] wherein basic nitrogen-containing compounds are used in the examples. These compounds are heterocyclic ring compounds which may meet the molar absorption coefficient now recited in claim 1, however if proven not to have that property, page 6, para. [0080] report quinolines and pyridines and which would meet new claims dependent claims 22-27 and claims 30-36 wherein the heterocyclic nitrogen containing compounds are heterocyclic polycyclic ring compounds that would naturally hydrogen bond to the carboxylic acid of the methacrylic acid in resins 7 and 11 meeting requirement (W02) wherein the photosensitive material includes compound A, and the compound A includes a structure in which an amount of the carboxy group is reduced by an exposure. Further SUZUKI et al is not a negative working composition with typical photopolymerization initiators and polymerizable compounds thus this art meets new claims 37-39 as this reference is a positive working resist composition having the nitrogen compounds as a quencher to the generated photoacids. It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of photosensitive compositions to substitute any of the basic nitrogen containing compounds such as quinoline, pyridine or acridine in for the basic nitrogen-containing compounds of Example 18 or 19 and reasonable expect same or similar results for excellent pattern formation, heat resistance and excellent long service life. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL . See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN S. CHU whose telephone number is (571)272-1329. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F, IFP-Flex. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Keith Hendricks, can be reached at telephone number 571-272-1401. 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 Patent Center. Status information for published applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Patent Center to authorized users only. Should you have questions about access to the USPTO patent electronic filing system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). Examiner interviews are available via a variety of formats. See MPEP § 713.01. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) Form at https://www.uspto.gov/InterviewPractice. /John S. Chu/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1737 J. Chu May 29, 2026 Application/Control Number: 17/902,404 Page 2 Art Unit: 1737 Application/Control Number: 17/902,404 Page 4 Art Unit: 1737 Application/Control Number: 17/902,404 Page 5 Art Unit: 1737 Application/Control Number: 17/902,404 Page 7 Art Unit: 1737 Application/Control Number: 17/902,404 Page 8 Art Unit: 1737 Application/Control Number: 17/902,404 Page 9 Art Unit: 1737
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