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 .
This Office action is in response to Amendments filed 12/05/2025.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 –
(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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 7, and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shieh et al. (US 2008/0054290 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Shieh discloses a microchip (“LED 30” in Fig. 2, ¶ 0017, using an orientation opposite to that shown in Fig. 2) comprising:
a chip body (32) having a first surface (321) and a second surface (323) facing the first surface; and an electrode layer (36) on the second surface.
wherein a surface roughness of the first surface is smaller than a surface roughness of an upper surface of the electrode layer (see Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 2, Shieh further discloses wherein a width of the first surface is greater than a distance between the first surface and the upper surface of the electrode layer (see Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 7, Shieh further discloses wherein an area of the first surface is greater than an area of the second surface (see Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 17, Shieh further discloses wherein the microchip comprises a light-emitting diode (¶ 0017).
Claim(s) 1 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim (US 2019/0066592 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Kim discloses a microchip (Fig. 2, ¶ 0117) comprising:
a chip body (portion beneath 274/276) having a first surface (262) and a second surface (270) facing the first surface; and an electrode layer (274) on the second surface.
wherein a surface roughness of the first surface is smaller than a surface roughness of an upper surface of the electrode layer (see Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 16, Kim further discloses wherein the first surface is hydrophilic (¶ 0120).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-6 and 8-14 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER A CULBERT whose telephone number is (571)272-4893. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joshua Benitez can be reached at (571) 270-1435. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHRISTOPHER A CULBERT/Examiner, Art Unit 2815
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