CTNF 18/020,144 CTNF 80857 DETAILED ACTION Applicant’s amendment submitted on February 13, 2026 in response to the previous Office action mailed on September 17, 2025 (“previous OA”) have been fully considered. Support for the amendment to claim 1 can be found in paragraph 0107 of the specification. Support for new claim 21 can be found in original claim 8. In view of the amendment, the rejection of claims 1-20 under 35 USC 112(b), as set forth in the previous OA is withdrawn. Upon reconsideration of the rejection of claims 1-20 under 35 USC 103 as being unpatentable over WO2018159784 A1 in view of Creasy, Jr. et al. (US 20140272351 A1), this rejection is withdrawn. See further Interview Summary mailed on January 23, 2026. In view of the amendment, a new rejection under 35 USC 112(a) is introduced for claim 22. A new ground of rejection under 35 USC 103 over Akamatsu (WO2018159784 A1; US 20200002581 A1 to Akamatsu is relied upon as equivalent document in the rejection) in view of Yoshinobu et al. (WO 2019239925 A1) is introduced. Since the new ground of rejection was not necessitated by applicant’s amendment, this Office action is Non-Final. See MPEP 706.07(a). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-01 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. 07-31-01 Claim 22 is 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 . Claim 22 recites that the coating layer is a barrier and “prevents a component of the electrically debondable adhesive layer from contacting the electrically conductive layer”. The examiner submits that this recitation is broader in scope than the support in the specification. Specifically, “component” as recited can include any component in the electrically debondable adhesive layer for which there is no support. Specification at 0021 discloses that the coating layer functions as a barrier for an ionic liquid contained in the electrically debondable adhesive layer. Therefore, while there is support to claim that the coating layer functions as a barrier for an ionic liquid contained in the electrically debondable adhesive layer, there is no support to claim that the coating layer “prevents a component of the electrically debondable adhesive layer from contacting the electrically conductive layer”. 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1-5, 7-14, 21, and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Akamatsu (WO2018159784 A1; US 20200002581 A1 to Akamatsu is relied upon as equivalent document in the rejection) in view of Yoshinobu et al. (WO 2019239925 A1; English translation provided with the current OA) . As to claim 1, Akamatsu discloses electrically debondable adhesive sheet comprising in order a conduction substrate 5 (electrically conductive substrate) including a substrate 3 (supporting substrate), and an electrically conductive layer 4, and an electrically debondable adhesive layer 1, wherein an adhesive force of the adhesive layer is reduced by application of voltage of 10V for 10 seconds (abstract, Figure 2, Figure 3, 0020, 0156). Further, Akamatsu discloses “The adhesive sheet of the present invention may have a substrate, a conduction substrate, an intermediate layer, an undercoat layer, and the like, other than the above-mentioned layer.” (0154). As to claim 1, Akamatsu does not explicitly disclose a coating layer formed on a surface of the electrically conductive layer on a side opposite to the supporting substrate, wherein the electrically debondable adhesive layer and the coating layer are in contact with each other (supporting substrate/electrically conductive layer/coating layer/electrically debondable adhesive layer) . Yoshinobu discloses a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) sheet (0001). The PSA sheet of Yoshinobu suppresses electrostatic breakdown of a semiconductor element when the adhesive sheet is peeled off from an adherend (0006). The PSA layer of Yoshinobu includes ionic liquid and polymer (0011 and 0016). Further, Yoshinobu discloses a PSA sheet 10D comprising in the following order a substrate 11 D , a conductive layer 13B , a primer layer 14B (coating layer) , and a PSA layer 12D (0148, 0149, Figure 5). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a primer layer (coating layer) disclosed by Yoshinobu between the electrically conductive layer and the electrically debondable adhesive layer in Akamatsu, motivated by the desire to improve adhesion between the electrically conductive substrate including the electrically conductive layer and the electrically debondable adhesive layer. Further, in the combined disclosure of Akamatsu in view of Yoshinobu, one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that the electrically debonding adhesive layer and the coating layer are in contact with each other. As to claims 2, 4, and 5, Akamatsu discloses these limitations in claims 15-17. As to claim 3, Akamatsu discloses this claim at 0099. As to claim 7, Akamatsu discloses an adhesive layer 2 formed on a surface of the supporting substrate 3 on a side opposite to the electrically conductive layer 4 (Figure 3 and 0156). As to claim 8, Akamatsu in Figure 3 discloses adhesive sheet comprising another adhesive layer 2 formed on a surface of the supporting substrate 3 on a side opposite to the electrically conductive layer 4, a second electrically conductive layer 4 (i.e. conductive layer below the electrically debondable adhesive layer 1), and a second another adhesive layer 2, wherein the second electrically conductive layer and the second another adhesive layer are formed in this order on a surface of the electrically debondable adhesive layer on a side opposite the coating layer. As to claims 9-10, Akamatsu discloses these claims at 0077, wherein the metal adherend disclosed by Akamatsu equates to the electrically conductive material of claim 9. As to claims 11-14, these claims are disclosed in claims 16-17 of Akamatsu. As to claim 21, Akamatsu is silent as to disclosing a second coating layer as claimed. The invention of Yoshinobu as set forth previously is incorporated by reference. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide another primer layer (second coating layer) disclosed by Yoshinobu between the second electrically conductive layer and the electrically debondable adhesive layer in Akamatsu, motivated by the desire to improve adhesion between the electrically conductive substrate including the electrically conductive layer and the electrically debondable adhesive layer. Further, in the combined disclosure of Akamatsu in view of Yoshinobu, one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that the electrically debonding adhesive layer and the second coating layer are in contact with each other. As to claim 22, Akamatsu as modified by Yoshinobu is silent as to disclosing this claim. However, where the claimed and prior art products are identical or substantially identical in structure or composition, or are produced by identical or substantially identical processes, a prima facie case of either anticipation or obviousness is established. See MPEP 2112.01 (I). The examiner submits that at present no difference is seen between the claimed coating layer and the coating layer of Akamatsu as modified by Yoshinobu as set forth previously. Accordingly, it is clear that the coating layer of Akamatsu as modified by Yoshinobu would inherently be a barrier as claimed . 07-22-aia AIA Claim s 6 and 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Akamatsu (WO2018159784 A1; US 20200002581 A1 to Akamatsu is relied upon as equivalent document in the rejection) in view of Yoshinobu et al. (WO 2019239925 A1; English translation provided with the current OA) , as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Gutman et al. (US 5508107) . Akamatsu as modified by Yoshinobu is silent as to disclosing claims 6, 15-20, and 22. Gutman discloses water-resistant antistatic PSA tape suitable for use as wafer dicing tape comprising a flexible substate and a removable PSA (abstract). Further, Gutman discloses that primer or binders such as phenolic resins, acrylic resins , rubber components, block copolymers, and mixtures thereof are used to ensure adhesion between the backing and the adhesive (column 9, lines 35-40). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a primer layer (coating layer) containing any one or mixtures of as phenolic resins, acrylic resins , rubber components, block copolymers, motivated by the desire to improve adhesion between the electrically conductive substrate including the electrically conductive layer and the electrically debondable adhesive layer. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANISH P DESAI whose telephone number is (571)272-6467. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:00 am ET to 4:30 PM ET. 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, Alicia Chevalier can be reached at 571-272-1490. 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. /ANISH P DESAI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1788 May 26, 2026 Application/Control Number: 18/020,144 Page 2 Art Unit: 1788 Application/Control Number: 18/020,144 Page 3 Art Unit: 1788 Application/Control Number: 18/020,144 Page 4 Art Unit: 1788 Application/Control Number: 18/020,144 Page 5 Art Unit: 1788 Application/Control Number: 18/020,144 Page 6 Art Unit: 1788 Application/Control Number: 18/020,144 Page 7 Art Unit: 1788 Application/Control Number: 18/020,144 Page 8 Art Unit: 1788 Application/Control Number: 18/020,144 Page 9 Art Unit: 1788 Application/Control Number: 18/020,144 Page 10 Art Unit: 1788
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