DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to an amendment filed 5/6/26.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) was submitted on 1/16/26. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
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.
Claim(s) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jo et al. (U.S. 2020/0119126 A1; “Jo”) in view of Shin et al. (U.S. 2020/0312248 A1; “Shin”).
Regarding claim 18, Jo discloses a display device comprising:
A substrate (100, Fig. 4) ([0098]);
An insulating film (115, Fig. 4) disposed on the substrate ([0106]);
A pad (CE2, Fig. 4) disposed on the insulating film ([0109]);
A second insulating film (117, Fig. 4) disposed on (“on top of”) the pad ([0111]);
A pad-shielding electrode (CM, Fig. 4) disposed on the first organic film and electrically connected to the pad through a pad hole formed in the first organic film ([0115]);
A pixel electrode (310, Fig. 4) disposed on the first organic film ([0118]);
A light-emitting element (320, Fig. 4) disposed on the pixel electrode ([0118]);
A planarization film (119, Fig. 4) disposed on sides of the light-emitting element ([0124]); and
A common electrode (330, Fig. 4) disposed on the light-emitting element and the planarization film ([0118]).
Yet, Jo does not disclose the second insulating film (117, Fig. 4) is an organic film ([0111]). However, Shin discloses a second insulating film is an organic film ([0159]). Because both Jo and Shin teach methods of forming insulating films in display devices, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to substitute one method for the other to achieve the predictable result of forming the second insulating film as an organic film. KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-17 are allowed.
Claims 19-20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 18 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
Conclusion
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/REEMA PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2812 6/15/2026
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