Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 05, 2026
Application No. 17/925,175

CMP POLISHING LIQUID AND POLISHING METHOD

Final Rejection §112
Filed
Nov 14, 2022
Priority
Apr 20, 2021 — nonprovisional of PCTJP2021016073
Examiner
UTECH, BENJAMIN L
Art Unit
1700
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
RESONAC Corporation
OA Round
4 (Final)
100%
Grant Probability
Favorable
5-6
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 100% — above average
100%
Career Allowance Rate
16 granted / 16 resolved
+35.0% vs TC avg
Minimal +0% lift
Without
With
+0.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 3m
Avg Prosecution
21 currently pending
Career history
61
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§103
83.3%
+43.3% vs TC avg
§102
3.3%
-36.7% vs TC avg
§112
11.7%
-28.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 16 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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 . The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a): (a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention. The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112: The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention. Claims 1-2, 6-7, 11-16, 19, 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. The claims have been amended to recite a CMP polishing liquid configured to provide a polishing rate ratio of silicon nitride with respect to silicon oxide of 1.2 or more. No passage in the instant specification has been found to unambiguously support this limitation. Applicant have cited to [0018] but this only refers to a CMP polishing liquid (not a CMP polishing liquid configured to…) and same discloses a polishing rate ratio of silicon nitride to silicon oxide of 0.2 or more. Applicants have cited to Table 1-3 but no value of 1.2 can be found therein. While the instant spec does disclose CMP polishing liquids there has not been found any discussion therein about how such CMP polishing liquids are configured to provide various polishing rate ratios. Claims 8-10, 17-18 and 20 remain withdrawn. 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 BENJAMIN L UTECH whose telephone number is (571)272-1137. The examiner can normally be reached M-F. 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. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Shawn Decenzo can be reached at (571)270-3227. 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. /BENJAMIN L UTECH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 6212
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Show 1 earlier event
Jan 27, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
Apr 28, 2025
Response Filed
May 19, 2025
Final Rejection mailed — §112
Oct 20, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Oct 22, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Nov 17, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112
Feb 17, 2026
Response Filed
May 04, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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Patent 12668549
GRADIENT STRUCTURE CUBIC BORON NITRIDE COMPOSITE SHEET AND PREPARATION METHOD THEREOF
2y 6m to grant Granted Jun 30, 2026
Patent 12662415
GLASS FILLER AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING THE SAME, AND RESIN-CONTAINING COMPOSITION INCLUDING GLASS FILLER
3y 9m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026
Patent 12655062
NANOMATERIAL CERAMIC SPHERES, PREPARATION METHOD, AND APPLICATION THEREOF
3y 6m to grant Granted Jun 16, 2026
Patent 12637385
DECORATIVE COMPOSITION AND UTILIZATION THEREOF
2y 8m to grant Granted May 26, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

5-6
Expected OA Rounds
100%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+0.0%)
3y 3m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 16 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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