Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/192,316

ORGANIC SALT, PHOTORESIST COMPOSITION INCLUDING THE SAME, AND PATTERN FORMATION METHOD USING THE SAME

Final Rejection §103
Filed
Mar 29, 2023
Priority
Nov 11, 2022 — RE 10-2022-0150966
Examiner
CHACKO DAVIS, DABORAH
Art Unit
1737
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
OA Round
2 (Final)
72%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
2m
Est. Remaining
92%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 72% — above average
72%
Career Allowance Rate
698 granted / 973 resolved
+6.7% vs TC avg
Strong +21% interview lift
Without
With
+20.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 4m
Avg Prosecution
26 currently pending
Career history
1014
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.4%
-39.6% vs TC avg
§103
48.0%
+8.0% vs TC avg
§102
22.4%
-17.6% vs TC avg
§112
17.4%
-22.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 973 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . Claim Objections Claims 1-20, are objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 1 recites R11 to R13 as a hydrocarbon group that may optionally include a heteroatom and suggests that R11 to R13 to can be hydrocarbons i.e., without any heteroatom, however, at the third last line in claim 1, claim 1 recites that at least one of R11 to R13 includes at least one iodine, and makes the claim unclear, since the heteroatom iodine is required in the latter recitation, however in the preceding line recites that the heteroatom is optional, and it therefore unclear as to which of R11 to R13 requires the heteroatom iodine and/or if the heteroatom is not an optional requirement. Appropriate correction is required. Claim 7 recites that the organic salt can be represented by Formula 1-1, however the body of the claim does not make clear what X+, in Formula 1-1, represents? Claim 9 recites that the organic salt can be represented by Formula 1-11 or Formula 1-12, and the body of the claim does not disclose/recite what X+, in each of Formula 1-11 and Formula 1-12, represents? Claim 12 recites 11 structures under the listing of Group I. It is not clear if the organic salt of Formula 1 is one of the listed structures recited under Group I or if all of the 11 structures are required in order to constitute Formula I in the organic salt or not. Claim 17, at line 5, recites “generates an acid when exposure to light” and is not clear. Examiner recommends changing the recitation to recite at line 5 of claim 17, --generates an acid when exposed to light--. Appropriate correction is required. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, filed April 6, 2026, with respect to the rejections of claims 1, 3-11, 14-16, and 18-20, under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and claims 2, 12-13, and 17, under 35 U. S. C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 35 U.S.C. 103 rejections made over claims 1-20 in the previous office action have been withdrawn. Also, see paragraph no. 2, above. Conclusion THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Daborah Chacko-Davis whose telephone number is (571) 272-1380. The examiner can normally be reached on 9:30AM-6:00PM EST Mon-Fri. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mark F. Huff can be reached on (571) 272-1385. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-272-8300. 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. /DABORAH CHACKO-DAVIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1737 May 16, 2026.
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Mar 29, 2023
Application Filed
Jan 15, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Feb 05, 2026
Interview Requested
Feb 13, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Feb 13, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Apr 06, 2026
Response Filed
May 20, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12631961
MONOALKYL TIN TRIALKOXIDES AND/OR MONOALKYL TIN TRIAMIDES WITH LOW METAL CONTAMINATION AND/OR PARTICULATE CONTAMINATION, AND CORRESPONDING METHODS
3y 1m to grant Granted May 19, 2026
Patent 12613462
RESIST PATTERN FORMING METHOD AND SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE MANUFACTURING METHOD
4y 2m to grant Granted Apr 28, 2026
Patent 12613468
METHOD FOR FORMING PATTERNED PHOTORESIST
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 28, 2026
Patent 12610788
METHOD OF PROCESSING PHOTORESIST LAYER, AND PHOTORESIST LAYER
3y 9m to grant Granted Apr 21, 2026
Patent 12607925
PELLICLE, EXPOSURE ORIGINAL PLATE, EXPOSURE DEVICE, METHOD OF MANUFACTURING PELLICLE, AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE
3y 3m to grant Granted Apr 21, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
72%
Grant Probability
92%
With Interview (+20.6%)
3y 4m (~2m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 973 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month