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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 16 June 2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 7-8, filed 18 May 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 and its dependent claims under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of JP 2012173549 A (hereby referred to as JP ‘549).
Applicant has amended independent claim 1 to increase the lower bound of the range of the number of radically polymerizable functional groups of the polyfunctional radically polymerizable compound. Applicant argues that the previously cited art (De and Tanigaki) fails to disclose or suggest the number of radically polymerizable functional groups recited by claim 1, as amended. Specifcally, Applicant argues that Tanigaki only teaches compounds having up to 12 radically polymerizable functional groups. Upon review of the prior art previously relied upon, Applicant’s arguments are found persuasive and the previous rejection is withdrawn. However, a new rejection is presented in view of JP 2012173549 A (hereby referred to as JP ‘549), as explained below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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) 1-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20160313641 A1 (hereby referred to as De) in view of JP 2012173549 A (hereby referred to as JP ‘549), citing US 20150192869 A1 (hereby referred to as Takezawa) as an evidentiary reference.
Regarding Claims 1-2, 6, and 8-10, De discloses photosensitive polyimide compositions. The composition comprises at least one polyimide polymer, at least one reactive functional compound (RFC), and at least one photoinitiator (De, paragraph 0025). The polyimide polymer is prepared by reaction of at least one diamine with at least one dianhydride (De, paragraph 0026). Paragraph 0026 of De provides examples of suitable diamines. Of note, De recites 2,2’-bis(trifluoromethyl) benzidine and 1-(4-aminophenyl)-2,3-dihydro-1,3,3-trimethyl-1H-inden-5-amine as suitable diamines to produce the polyimide resin (De, paragraph 0026). These specific diamines provide units recited by instant claims 9 and 10. The dianhydride comonomer is preferably a tetracarboxylic acid dianhydride having Structure (V), which is reproduced below (De, paragraph 0035-0036).
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In Structure (V), Y represents a tetravalent organic group (De, paragraph 0037). Specific examples of suitable tetracarboxylic acid dianhydride monomers are taught in paragraphs 0061-0063 of De, including the following shown on page 7 of De’s publication.
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De notes that the diamine reacts with the dianhydride to yield a polyamic acid structure (De, paragraph 0066), and that multiple synthetic pathways exist to convert the polyamic acid to a polyimide polymer (De, paragraph 0073-0081). Structures (VIIIa) and (VIIIb) (see paragraph 0073 of De) show the resulting polyimide structure in the cases where excess diamine is used in the polyamic acid synthesis and excess dianhydride is used in the polyamic acid synthesis, respectively (De, paragraph 0070-0071 and 0073). As can be seen in structures (VIIIa) and (VIIIb), the repeating unit of the polyimide is of the same form as Formula (1) as recited by instant claim 1. The terminal -NH2 groups of the polymer obtained when excess diamine is used can be replaced with an end-capping compound having a functional group that is reactive with an amine, such as epoxide compounds and isocyanate compounds (De, paragraph 0082). The following compounds are taught to be suitable for end-capping purposes (De, paragraph 0083).
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The epoxide structure, upon reaction with an amine, yields a group represented by Formula (3) (as recited by instant claim 1) as the terminal group of the polymer. The isocyanate structure, upon reaction with an amine, yields a group represented by Formula (2) (as recited by instant claim 1) as the terminal group of the polymer. De further teaches that the molecular weight of the polymer is at least 10,000 Daltons and at most about 90,000 Daltons (De, paragraph 0070 and 0072). As the reactive functional compound (RFC), a compound having at least one functional groups that are reactive with other RFC compounds and/or the terminal groups of the polyimide polymer is chosen (De, paragraph 0094). Such compounds include (meth)acrylate monomers or oligomers (De, paragraph 0094). Specific examples may include pentaerythritol tetra(meth)acrylate, dipentaerythritol penta(meth)acrylate, and dipentaerythritol hexa(meth)acrylate (De, paragraph 0096), which are (meth)acrylate monomers possessing four, five, and six unsaturated bonds capable of polymerization, respectively.
De does not disclose an inventive example according to the instant application’s claimed invention. In other words, De does not explicitly provide a photosensitive polyimide resin composition according to instant claim 1. However, the broader disclosure of De provides a plurality of diamines, dianhydrides, and terminal groups, that when chosen appropriately, would yield the claimed invention. Thus, per MPEP 2143 I. B., MPEP 2143 I. E., and/or MPEP 2144.06 II., a prima facie case of obviousness exists. Specifically, one having ordinary skill in the art would find it obvious, in view of the disclosure of De, to choose to terminate a polyimide polymer for the photosensitive polyimide resin composition with either of the aforementioned terminal groups to increase the degree of crosslinking polymerization with the radically polymerizable compound in the photosensitive composition (due to the inclusion of additional radically polymerizable groups), thus yielding a stronger crosslinked network. Furthermore, one having ordinary skill in the art would find it obvious to use a diamine skeleton such as those recited by instant claims 9 and 10 because these structures are taught by De to be functionally equivalent to the other diamine structures for the purposes of producing a polyimide for the photosensitive resin composition (see De, paragraph 0026). Lastly, one having ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to obtain a polyimide having a molecular weight of more than 5000 Daltons and less than 70,000 Daltons, as De discloses that the polymer should have a molecular weight between 10,000 Daltons and 90,000 Daltons. Per MPEP 2144.05 I., an overlapping range creates a prima facie case of obviousness.
However, De is silent in regards to the inclusion of a polyfunctional radically polymerizable compound having 14 or more and 85.5 or less radically polymerizable functional groups. JP ‘549 teaches a photosensitive resin composition. The photosensitive resin composition comprises a colorant, a resin, a polymerizable compound, and a polymerization initiator (JP ‘549, paragraph 0007 of the English translation). The resin may include a polyimide resin (JP ‘549, paragraph 0056 of the English translation). The polymerizable compound includes at least one compound selected from the group consisting of dendrimers and hyperbranched polymers (JP ‘549, paragraph 0058 of the English translation). A specific example of the polymerizable compound includes formula (7) (JP ‘549, paragraph 0071 of the English translation and page 15 of the original document). The structure of formula (7) is reproduced below.
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As can be seen in the structure of formula (7), the polymerizable compound comprises 14 radically polymerizable groups. JP ‘549 further teaches commercial products that can be used as the polymerizable compound, including Viscoat 1000, STAR-501, A-HBR-5, and New Frontier R-1150 (JP ‘549, paragraph 0072 of the English translation). JP ‘549 does not disclose the number of radically polymerizable groups in the commercial products. However, Takezawa (which is introduced strictly as an evidentiary reference) teaches that Viscoat 1000 includes 14 functional groups (acryloyl groups) and STAR-501 includes 20 to 99 functional groups (acryloyl groups) (Takezawa, paragraph 0071). Thus, JP ‘549 teaches at least three polymerizable compounds having 14 to 85.5 radically polymerizable functional groups.
De and JP ‘549 are analogous art because both references pertain to photosensitive resin compositions. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the instant application to use a radically polymerizable compound having 14 or more radically polymerizable functional groups, such as Viscoat 1000, STAR-501, or formula (7) as the polyfunctional radically polymerizable compound, as taught by JP ‘549, in place of the RFC compounds taught by De because these polyfunctional polymerizable compounds allow for a pattern with excellent resolution and solvent resistance to be formed (JP ‘549, paragraphs 0060 and 0073).
Regarding Claims 3-4, De discloses that the amount of polyimide in the entire weight of the photosensitive polymeric composition is at least about 5 weight% to at most about 95 weight% (De, paragraph 0107). De further discloses that the amount of the reactive functional compound (RFC) in the entire weight of the photosensitive polymeric composition is at least about 1 weight% and at most about 50 weight% (De, paragraph 0108). The amount of the RFC with respect to the amount of the polyimide polymer is at most about 60 weight% and at least about 10 weight% (De, paragraph 0109-0110). Per MPEP 2144.05 I., the overlapping ranges of the content of these components with the ranges recited by instant claims 3 and 4 presents a prima facie case of obviousness.
Regarding Claim 5, De is silent in regards to the presence of a colorant in the composition. One having ordinary skill in the art would presume that there is no colorant present in De’s resin composition. Therefore, the composition has a colorant content that is less than 10 parts by mass based on 100 parts by mass of the polyimide resin.
Regarding Claim 7, De is silent in regards to the light transmittance of the polyimide resin when formed into a solution with a solid content concentration of 3 mass%. However, De renders obvious a polyimide structure according to instant claim 1, and further teaches specific diamine structures such as those recited by instant claim 10, as discussed above. Therefore, one having ordinary skill in the art would expect that the polyimide resin taught by De would possess the light transmittance properties recited by instant claim 7, due to the polyimide resin of De being obtained from structurally similar or identical chemical species as the polyimide resin of the instant invention. See MPEP 2144.09 I.
Regarding Claim 11, De discloses that the photosensitive polyimide resin composition comprises at least one photoinitiator (De, paragraph 0025). The composition may also include at least one organic solvent (De, paragraph 0103), and additives such as adhesion promoters, surfactants, nanoparticles, and plasticizers may also be included (De, paragraph 0112).
Regarding Claim 12, De further discloses that the polymeric composition can be formed into a film and disposed between a carrier substrate and a protective layer (De, paragraph 0025), thus acting as an insulating film. The polymeric layer may be crosslinked (De, paragraph 0136).
Regarding Claim 13, De discloses that the photosensitive polyimide resin composition may be formed into a cured film (De, paragraph 0147 and paragraphs 0136, 0138-0139, and 0143-0144).
Claim(s) 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20160313641 A1 (hereby referred to as De) in view of JP 2012173549 A (hereby referred to as JP ‘549) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of US 20190294045 A1 (hereby referred to as Ichioka).
Regarding Claim 5, the combination of De and JP ‘549 renders obvious the photosensitive polyimide resin composition according to instant claim 1, as explained above. However, De is silent in regards to the inclusion of a colorant in the photosensitive resin composition. JP ‘549 teaches the inclusion of a colorant in the photosensitive resin composition (JP ‘549, paragraph 0008 of the English translation), but does not teach a colorant content in accordance with the amounts recited by instant claim 5.
Ichioka teaches a photosensitive resin composition and products formed from the same. The photosensitive resin composition comprises a polyimide resin, a crosslinking agent, a photoacid generator, a polyfunctional compound, a filler, and a colorant (Ichioka, paragraph 0034). The photosensitive resin is considered analogous to the ones taught by De and JP ‘549, as each composition comprises polyimide resins and a polymerizable compound. The colorant is included in an amount of 0.01 to 30 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the polyimide resin (Ichioka, paragraph 0138). More preferably, the colorant is present in an amount of 0.8 to 5 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the polyimide resin (Ichioka, paragraph 0138).
De, JP ‘549, and Ichioka are analogous art because each reference pertains to photosensitive compositions. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the instant application to include a colorant an amount of less than 10 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of the polyimide resin, as taught by Ichioka, in the composition obtained by combining the teachings of De and JP ‘549 because an amount of colorant less than 10 parts by mass based on 100 parts by mass of the polyimide resin prevents a substantial drop of light transmittance (and thus avoiding under-cure related issues) whilst providing sufficient coloring effects (see Ichioka, paragraph 0138).
Claim(s) 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20160313641 A1 (hereby referred to as De) in view of JP 2012173549 A (hereby referred to as JP ‘549) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of US 20180275513 A1 (hereby referred to as Takemura).
Regarding Claims 12-15, the combination of De and JP ‘549 renders obvious the photosensitive polyimide resin composition according to instant claim 1, as explained above. De further suggests a cured film formed from the composition. However, De and JP ‘549 are silent regarding a resin film having a 20 μm thickness or greater.
Takemura teaches a polyimide polymer precursor and photosensitive resins containing the same. The photosensitive resin composition contains the polyimide polymer, a photopolymerization initiator, a photocurable compound having two or more unsaturated bonding groups, and a solvent (Takemura, paragraph 0061). It is apparent that the photosensitive resin composition of Takemura is analogous to the photosensitive resin compositions taught by De and JP ‘549. Takemura further teaches that the photosensitive resin composition is used to produce a cured film, and may be used for electronic devices or as an insulating protective film (Takemura, paragraph 0073). The thickness of the film formed from the photosensitive resin composition may be between 1 and 50 μm, and is preferably between 1 and 30 μm thick, and more preferably between 5 and 20 μm thick (Takemura, paragraph 0342).
De, JP ‘549, and Takemura are analogous art because each reference pertains to photosensitive compositions. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the instant application to form a cured film having a thickness of 20 μm or greater, as suggested by Takemura, using the photosensitive resin composition obtained by combining the teachings of De and JP ‘549 to obtain a film having improved patternability and toughness. Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the instant application to use such a film for electronic devices because the polyimide resin provides a high glass-transition temperature, which allows for the electronic device to maintain mechanical integrity and provides improved resistance to chemicals during processing steps such as soldering (see De, paragraph 0145 and Takemura, paragraph 0350).
Conclusion
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/JAYSON D COSGROVE/Examiner, Art Unit 1737 /JONATHAN JOHNSON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1734
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