Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/216,289

POLISHING COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS OF USE THEREOF

Final Rejection §102
Filed
Jun 29, 2023
Examiner
CULBERT, ROBERTS P
Art Unit
1716
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Fujifilm Electronic Materials U S A Inc.
OA Round
2 (Final)
82%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
2y 5m
To Grant
78%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 82% — above average
82%
Career Allow Rate
659 granted / 809 resolved
+16.5% vs TC avg
Minimal -4% lift
Without
With
+-3.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
20 currently pending
Career history
829
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.5%
-39.5% vs TC avg
§103
42.6%
+2.6% vs TC avg
§102
35.1%
-4.9% vs TC avg
§112
9.4%
-30.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 809 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims as amended have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. 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 – (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 1-6, 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Publication 2012/0270400 to Takegoshi et al. Regarding Claim 1, Takegoshi et al. teaches a polishing composition, comprising: at least one abrasive (Paragraphs 58); at least one organic photocatalyst (Paragraph 33), wherein the organic photocatalyst is selected from the group consisting of a porphyrin compound, a thiaporphyrin compound, a phthalocyanine compound, a subphthalocyanine compound, a helical carbenium ion containing compound, and mixtures thereof; and water (Paragraph 30). Regarding Claim 2, Takegoshi et al. teaches (Paragraph 58) the at least one abrasive is selected from the group consisting of alumina, silica, titania, ceria, zirconia, co- formed products of alumina, silica, titania, ceria, or zirconia, coated abrasives, surface modified abrasives, and mixtures thereof. Regarding Claim 3, Takegoshi et al. teaches (Paragraph 59) the at least one abrasive is in an amount of from about 0.01% to about 50% by weight of the composition. Regarding Claim 4, Takegoshi et al. teaches (implicit) the organic photocatalyst has an absorption max (Amax) of from about 350 nm to about 850 nm Regarding Claim 5, Takegoshi et al. teaches (implicit) the organic photocatalyst does not contain a transition metal Regarding Claim 6, Takegoshi et al. teaches (Paragraph 41) the organic photocatalyst is in an amount of from about 0.0001% to about 10% by weight of the composition. Regarding Claim 8, Takegoshi et al. teaches (Paragraph 68) a polishing composition that does not include hydrogen peroxide, orthoperiodic acid, metaperiodic acid, dimesoperiodic acid, diorthoperiodic acid, ammonium periodate, potassium periodate, sodium periodate, ammonium persulfate, iodic acid, an iodate salt, perchloric acid, a perchloroate salt, hydroxylamine, or a hydroxylamine salt. Regarding Claim 9, Takegoshi et al. teaches (Paragraphs 44 and 53) at least one compound selected from the group consisting of pH adjusting agents, corrosion inhibitors, surfactants, chelating agents, water-soluble polymers, organic acids, organic solvents, or mixtures thereof. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 7 and 21 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. Conclusion Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 Roberts P Culbert whose telephone number is (571)272-1433. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Thursday 7:30 AM-6 PM EST. 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, Parviz Hassanzadeh can be reached at 571-272-1435. 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. /ROBERTS P CULBERT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1716
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jun 29, 2023
Application Filed
Jul 26, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102
Oct 27, 2025
Response Filed
Feb 20, 2026
Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12598928
APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR SELECTIVELY ETCHING SILICON OXIDE FILMS
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12584039
SLURRY COMPOSITION FOR A CHEMICAL MECHANICAL POLISHING
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 24, 2026
Patent 12577466
PHOTORESIST DEVELOPMENT WITH ORGANIC VAPOR
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Patent 12575352
ETCHING METHOD AND ETCHING APPARATUS
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 10, 2026
Patent 12575353
METHOD FOR LATERAL ETCH WITH BOTTOM PASSIVATION
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 10, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
82%
Grant Probability
78%
With Interview (-3.6%)
2y 5m
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 809 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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