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 .
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-30 are currently pending.
Claims 2 and 3 are withdrawn from consideration.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Species A4, claims 1 and 4-30, in the reply filed on 09/22/2025 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the species would not be a search burden as they would be searched and classified together. This is not found persuasive because the species would require different search areas as they contain mutually distinct structures and properties as detailed in Applicant’s specification (see par. 007-012 of Applicant’s specification). The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 2 and 3 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 09/22/2025.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 –
Claim(s) 1, 13-23, and 25-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Zheng et al. (US 2018/0072882 A1).
Regarding claim 1,
Zheng teaches an optical compensation film comprising a positive birefringent component, such as nitrated (α,β,β-trifluorostyrene) (PTFS, listed as a positive birefringent component in Applicant’s specification), and a negative birefringent component, such as a polyimide (PI) composed of 4,4’-(hexafluoroisopropylidene)diphthalic anhydride/3,3’,4,4’-biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride/2,2’-bis(trifluoromethyl)benzidine ( 6FDA/BPDA/PFMB, listed as a negative birefringent component) (Zheng: abstract; par. 0008-0010, and 0026-0029; Applicant’s specification: par. 035 and 037).
The film may have a thickness of from about 5 to about 30 µm, which is within the claimed range of less than 200 µm. Prior art which teaches a range within, overlapping, or touching the claimed range anticipates if the prior art range discloses the claimed range with sufficient specificity. See MPEP 2131.03 and Ex parte Lee, 31 USPQ2d 1105 (Bd. Pat. App. & Inter. 1993).
Regarding claim 13,
Zheng teaches the optical compensation film required by claim 1. Zheng further teaches that both the positive birefringent component and the negative birefringent component are contained in a copolymer (Zheng: par. 0013).
Regarding claim 14,
Zheng teaches the optical compensation film required by claim 1. Zheng further teaches the positive birefringent component and the negative birefringent component may be considered to be contained in a compatible blend as the PTFS may be copolymerized with methyl methacrylate which is listed as a suitable compatibilizing component in the specification (Zheng: par. 0027; Applicant’s PGpub: par. 0039).
Regarding claim 15,
Zheng teaches the optical compensation film required by claim 1. Zheng further teaches the positive birefringent component and the negative birefringent component may be considered the be contained in a compatible blend as the PTFS may be copolymerized with methyl methacrylate which is listed as a suitable compatibilizing component in the specification (Zheng: par. 0027; Applicant’s PGpub: par. 0039). As the components of Zheng are listed as suitable and the same components utilized in Applicant’s specification, they may be considered to promote their homogenous blending as PTFS and the PI alone are not considered to be compatible.
Regarding claims 16 and 17,
Zheng teaches the optical compensation film required by claim 1. Zheng further teaches the optical compensation film may be utilized in a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display (Zheng: par. 0045).
Regarding claims 18-22 and 25,
Zheng teaches an optical compensation film comprising a positive birefringent component, such as nitrated (α,β,β-trifluorostyrene) (PTFS, a positive birefringent component according to Applicant’s speciation), and a negative birefringent component, such as a polyimide (PI) composed of 4,4’-(hexafluoroisopropylidene)diphthalic anhydride (6FDA), 3,3’,4,4’-biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA), and/or 2,2’-bis(trifluoromethyl)benzidine (PFMB) (a negative birefringent component according to Applicant’s specification) (Zheng: abstract; par. 0008-0010, and 0026-0029; Applicant’s specification: par. 035 and 037). The positive birefringent component and the negative birefringent component may be considered to be contained in a compatible blend as the PTFS may be copolymerized with methyl methacrylate (a compatibilizing component) which is listed as a suitable compatibilizing component in the specification (Zheng: par. 0027; Applicant’s PGpub: par. 0039).
Regarding claim 23,
Zheng teaches the optical compensation film required by claim 19. Zheng further teaches the positive birefringent component (PTFS) and the negative birefringent component (PI) may be considered to be contained in a compatible blend as the PTFS may be copolymerized with methyl methacrylate (a second component) and a methyl acrylate (a third compatible polymer component) which are both listed as a suitable compatibilizing component in the specification (Zheng: par. 0027; Applicant’s PGpub: par. 0039).
Regarding claim 26,
Zheng teaches the optical compensation film required by claim 19. Zheng further teaches the PI may be 6FDA/PFMB (Zheng: par. 0029).
Regarding claim 27,
Zheng teaches the optical compensation film required by claim 19. Zheng further teaches the PI may be 6FDA/BPDA/PFMB (Zheng: par. 0029).
Regarding claim 28,
Zheng teaches the optical compensation film required by claim 19. Zheng further teaches the positive birefringent component may be PTFS and the negative birefringent component may be a PI composed of 6FDA/BPDA/PFMB (Zheng: par. 0026-0029).
Regarding claims 29 and 30,
Zheng teaches the optical compensation film required by claim 19. Zheng teaches the positive birefringent component is at least one PTFS and the negative birefringent component is a PI (Zheng: par. 0026-0029). Zheng further teaches that the at least one PTFS may be copolymerized with methyl methacrylate (PMMA) and also teaches it may be copolymerized with the PI component (Zheng: par. 0013 and 0027). Thus, there is an embodiment in which the PI and the PMMA are copolymerized to comprise a PI-PMMA component. Due to comprising language, an additional component copolymerized with the PI-PMMA such as the PTFS is not precluded.
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.
Claims 4-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zheng in view of Zheng et al. (US 2009/0068380 A1; herein referred to as Zheng2009) and Nagahata et al. (JP 2022/144621 A; machine translation).
Regarding claims 4-12,
Zheng teaches the optical compensation film required by claim 1. Zheng does not explicitly teach the film is a Z film having the claimed Re and Rth properties. However, Zheng does teach it is desirable to improve desirable relations of the Re and Rth properties and to tune the relationships at various wavelengths, both individually and relative to one another (Zheng: par. 0044). Applicant’s specification describes that A-/B+ films can be tuned to Z-films after stretching and have the refractive index profile of nx > nz > ny or Nx < nz < ny (Applicant’s specification: par. 0008 and 0025). Zheng does describe positive A- or negative A- films (Zheng: par. 0012).
Zheng2009 teaches uniaxially stretched polymer films for adjusting birefringent properties to improve the viewing quality of LCD displays (Zheng2009: abstract). Zheng2009 teaches the refractive index characteristics of nx, ny, and nz of the birefringent films may be adjusted to achieve the desired characteristics by adjusting the material and the uniaxially stretching characteristics, such as in plane direction stretching (Zheng2009: par. 0012, 0016, 0019-0029, 0079, and 0157). While, Zheng2009 does not explicitly describe a “Z-film”, Nagahata teaches the use of Z-films, having an index profile of nx>nz>ny, may be obtained via uniaxial stretching to provide improved hue in LCD image devices (Nagahata: pgs. 1 and 5-6).
Zheng, Zheng2009, and Nagahata are in the corresponding field of optical compensation films for use in LCDs. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to adjust the refractive index materials of the optical compensation film of Zheng, which comprises the claimed positive and negative birefringent components, through the uniaxial in-plane stretching techniques (without any out-of-plane direction stretching) of Zheng2009 and Nagahata to provide a Z-film which displays improved hue to improve the viewing quality of LCD devices. As the resulting Z-film has the claimed materials, refractive index properties, and film thickness formed by uniaxial stretching techniques, it would be expected to satisfy the claimed out of plane and in-plane retardation relationships such as Re550, Re450, and Rth550 values required by claims 4-12. One of ordinary skill in the art would find it obvious to adjust these values as explained in Zheng, Zheng2009, and Nagahata to arrive at the desired improved viewing angles and hue.
Claim 24 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zheng in view of Arakawa (US 5,138,474 A).
Regarding claim 24,
Zheng teaches the optical compensation film required by claim 19. Zheng does not explicitly teach wherein the negative birefringent component is PSU.
Arakawa teaches liquid crystal displays comprising birefringent materials to provide improved viewing angles (Arakawa: abstract; col. 2, lin. 20-26). Preferred polymers for preparing films are found to include polyether sulfone (PSU) and polyimides, including copolymers of the two (Arakawa: col. 6, lin. 35-60). Thus, it is known to utilize PSU as a copolymer or as an alternative to polyimides for forming birefringent films with improved viewing angles.
Zheng and Arakawa are in the corresponding field of liquid crystal displays composed of films formed from birefringent materials. Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize polyether sulfone (PSU) in a blend or as a copolymer with polyimides of Zheng to provide improved properties as taught by Arakawa.
Conclusion
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/TRAVIS M FIGG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1783