DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claims 1-20 are pending.
The foreign priority application No.10-2022-0051653 field on April 26, 2022 in the Republic of Korea has been received and it is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 102 that forms 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.
Claims 1, 2, and 5-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Woods et al. (“Ethyl xanthate chemisorption and Eh-pH diagrams for silver + water + ethyl xanthate system”).
With regard to claims 1, 2, 6, and 7, Woods et al. teach the metal xanthate of formula:
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(reaction (3) on page 184), which is a compound of Formula 1 in claims 1, 6, and 7, wherein R1 is ethyl (alkyl group with 2 carbon atoms) and A is O, and a compound of Formula 2 in claim 2, wherein R1 is ethyl (alkyl group with 2 carbon atoms).
The limitation “resist compound” shows only an intended use and adds no patentable weigh to the claims.
Therefore,
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anticipates the compound in claims 1, 2, 6, and 7 of the instant application.
With regard to claim 5, the compound above is a compound of Formula 1 wherein R1 is ethyl (C2 alkyl group) and A is O par. 0008 of the instant application.
The specification teaches that a compound of formula 1 wherein A is O and R1 is a lower alkyl has increased reactivity to extreme ultraviolet (par.0031-0033).
Absent a record to the contrary, it is expected that the compound of formula
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of Woods et al. has increased reactivity to extreme ultraviolet.
"[T]he discovery of a previously unappreciated property of a prior art composition, or of a scientific explanation for the prior art’s functioning, does not render the old composition patentably new to the discoverer." Atlas Powder Co. v. IRECO Inc., 190 F.3d 1342, 1347, 51 USPQ2d 1943, 1947 (Fed. Cir. 1999). Thus the claiming of a new use, new function or unknown property which is inherently present in the prior art does not necessarily make the claim patentable. In re Best, 562 F.2d 1252, 1254, 195 USPQ 430, 433 (CCPA 1977) (MPEP 2112. I.SOMETHING WHICH IS OLD DOES NOT BECOME PATENTABLE UPON THE DISCOVERY OF A NEW PROPERTY)
Claims 1, 3, 5, and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hasegawa et al. (US Patent 4,036,650).
With regard to claims 1, 3, and 6, Hasegawa et al. teach silver diethyldithiocarbamate (compound (I) in column 2, lines 40-45, and Table 1 in columns 3 and 4), which is a compound of Formula 1 in claims 1 and 6, wherein R1 is an ethyl group (alkyl group with 2 carbon atoms), A is NR2, and R2 is an ethyl group (alkyl group with 2 carbon atoms).
Silver diethyldithiocarbamate is a compound of Formula 3 in claim 3, wherein R1 and R2 are ethyl groups (alkyl groups with 2 carbon atoms).
The limitation “resist compound” shows only an intended use and adds no patentable weigh to the claims.
Therefore, silver diethyldithiocarbamate anticipates the compound in claims 1, 3, and 6 of the instant application.
With regard to claim 5, the compound above is a compound of Formula 1 wherein R1 is an ethyl group (alkyl group with 2 carbon atoms), A is NR2, and R2 is an ethyl group (alkyl group with 2 carbon atoms) in par. 0008 of the instant application.
The specification teaches that a compound of formula 1 wherein R1 is a lower alkyl has increased reactivity to extreme ultraviolet (par.0031-0033).
Absent a record to the contrary, it is expected that the silver diethyldithiocarbamate of Hasegawa et al. has increased reactivity to ultraviolet (MPEP 2112. I.SOMETHING WHICH IS OLD DOES NOT BECOME PATENTABLE UPON THE DISCOVERY OF A NEW PROPERTY).
Claims 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, and 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Noglik et al. (US 2004/0081911).
With regard to claims 1, 3, and 6, Noglik et al. teach silver diethyldithiocarbamate (par.0042), which is a compound of Formula 1 in claims 1 and 6, wherein R1 is an ethyl group (alkyl group with 2 carbon atoms), A is NR2, and R2 is an ethyl group (alkyl group with 2 carbon atoms).
Silver diethyldithiocarbamate is a compound of Formula 3 in claim 3, wherein R1 and R2 are ethyl groups (alkyl groups with 2 carbon atoms).
The limitation “resist compound” shows only an intended use and adds no patentable weigh to the claims.
Therefore, silver diethyldithiocarbamate anticipates the compound in claims 1, 3, and 6 of the instant application.
With regard to claim 5, the compound above is a compound of Formula 1 wherein R1 is an ethyl group (alkyl group with 2 carbon atoms), A is NR2, and R2 is an ethyl group (alkyl group with 2 carbon atoms) in par. 0008 of the instant application.
The specification teaches that a compound of formula 1 wherein R1 is a lower alkyl has increased reactivity to extreme ultraviolet (par.0031-0033).
Absent a record to the contrary, it is expected that the silver diethyldithiocarbamate of Hasegawa et al. has increased reactivity to extreme ultraviolet (MPEP 2112. I.SOMETHING WHICH IS OLD DOES NOT BECOME PATENTABLE UPON THE DISCOVERY OF A NEW PROPERTY).
With regard to claims 8, 12, and 13, Noglik et al. teach a polymer material that undergoes a two-level two-dimensional crosslinking process, and the polymer material is used for lithographic printing (abstract, par.003). The polymer material comprises a metal compound such as silver diethyldithiocarbamate (par.0028-0029, par.0042) and a solvent (par.0045).
Silver diethyldithiocarbamate (par.0042) is a compound of Formula 1 in claims 8 and 13, wherein R1 is an ethyl group (alkyl group with 2 carbon atoms), A is NR2, and R2 is an ethyl group (alkyl group with 2 carbon atoms).
Silver diethyldithiocarbamate is a compound of Formula 3 in claim 12, wherein R1 and R2 are ethyl groups (alkyl groups with 2 carbon atoms).
Therefore, the polymer material of Noglik et al. is equivalent to the resist composition in claims 8, 12, and 13.
With regard to claim 14, silver diethyldithiocarbamate is a compound of Formula 1 wherein R1 is an ethyl group (alkyl group with 2 carbon atoms), A is NR2, and R2 is an ethyl group (alkyl group with 2 carbon atoms) in par. 0008 of the instant application.
The specification teaches that a compound of formula 1 wherein R1 is a lower alkyl has increased reactivity to extreme ultraviolet (par.0031-0033).
Absent a record to the contrary, it is expected that the silver diethyldithiocarbamate of Noglik et al. has increased reactivity to extreme ultraviolet (MPEP 2112. I.SOMETHING WHICH IS OLD DOES NOT BECOME PATENTABLE UPON THE DISCOVERY OF A NEW PROPERTY).
With regard to claim 15, Noglik et al. teach that the solvent may be ethanol or isopropanol (par.0045). These solvents meet the claim limitations for alcohols.
Claims 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, and 12-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Iizuka et al. (WO 2021/200357 A1, with attached machine translation).
With regard to claims 1, 3, 6, 8, 12, and 13, Iizuka et al. teach a resin composition containing a resin, a photopolymerization initiator or quinone diazide compound, a white pigment, an organic silver compound, and a reducing agent (abstract). The silver compound may be silver diethyldithiocarbamate (2nd paragraph on page 10 of the attached translation).
The resin composition further comprises a solvent (5th paragraph on page 14 of the attached translation).
Iizuka et al. further teach that the resin composition is a negative photosensitive resin composition (4th paragraph on page 12 of the attached translation).
Silver diethyldithiocarbamate is a compound of Formula 1 in claims 1, 6, 8, and 13, wherein R1 is an ethyl group (alkyl group with 2 carbon atoms), A is NR2, and R2 is an ethyl group (alkyl group with 2 carbon atoms).
Silver diethyldithiocarbamate is a compound of Formula 3 in claims 3 and 12, wherein R1 and R2 are ethyl groups (alkyl groups with 2 carbon atoms).
Therefore, silver diethyldithiocarbamate anticipates the resist compound in claims 1, 3, and 6, and the resin composition anticipates the resist composition in claims 8, 12, and 13.
With regard to claims 5 and 14, silver diethyldithiocarbamate is a compound of Formula 1 wherein R1 is an ethyl group (alkyl group with 2 carbon atoms), A is NR2, and R2 is an ethyl group (alkyl group with 2 carbon atoms) in par. 0008 of the instant application.
The specification teaches that a compound of formula 1 wherein R1 is a lower alkyl has increased reactivity to extreme ultraviolet (par.0031-0033).
Absent a record to the contrary, it is expected that the silver diethyldithiocarbamate of Iizuka et al. has increased reactivity to extreme ultraviolet (MPEP 2112. I.SOMETHING WHICH IS OLD DOES NOT BECOME PATENTABLE UPON THE DISCOVERY OF A NEW PROPERTY).
With regard to claim 15, Iizuka et al. teach that the solvent may be an alcohol (6th paragraph on page 14 of the attached translation).
With regard to claim 16, Iizuka et al. teach a process comprising the steps of:
-applying the resin composition on a base substrate and drying to form a dry film;
-pattern-exposing the obtained dry film;
-developing to dissolve and remove a portion of the dry film that is soluble in the developing solution (2nd paragraph on page 15 of the attached translation).
The pattern-wise exposure is performed with light (7th paragraph on page 15 of the attached translation).
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 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hasegawa et al. (US Patent 4,036,650).
With regard to claim 4, Hasegawa et al. teach the compound of claim 3 (see paragraph 6 above), but fail to teach the compound of claim 4.
However, Hasegawa et al. teach the compound of formula (I):
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, wherein R1 and R2 may be hydrogen atoms or alkyl groups (column 2, lines 40-45 and 60-62) and M1 is a metal (column 3, lines 17).
Silver diethyldithiocarbamate is a compound of formula (I) wherein M is Ag, R1 and R2 are alkyl groups with 2 carbon atoms.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to obtain a compound of formula (I) wherein R1 is a hydrogen atom, R2 is an alkyl group with 2 carbon atoms, and M1 is Ag.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9-11 and 17-20 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.
The prior art does not teach the resist composition in claim 9 and the method in claim 17 of the instant application.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Alharbi et al. (“Direct synthesis of nanostructured silver antimony sulfide powders from metal xanthate precursors”) teach silver (I) ethylxanthate AgS2COEt (abstract).
A metal xanthate is represented by the formula:
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(Scheme 1).
Neal et al. (US Patent 2,283,336) teach metal salts of dithiocarbamic acids of formula:
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, wherein X is a metal, R is hydrogen or an organic radical and R1 is an organic radical (page 1, right column, lines 43-51).
Neal et al. teach that silver dimethyl dithiocarbamate is a metal salt of a dithiocarbamic acid (page 4, right column, line 75).
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/ANCA EOFF/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1722