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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 2-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
In claim 2, it is not clear what is meant by “the total amount of substances of the aliphatic unsaturated carbon-carbon bond-containing group included in the composition”. If applicant simply means to recite the number of moles of aliphatic unsaturated carbon-carbon bond-containing groups recited in the composition this should be recited clearly.
Claim 3 purports to further limit component (C) of claim 1 by reciting the amount of vinyl moieties “in the aliphatic unsaturated carbon-carbon bond containing group in a molecule”, but there is no antecedent basis for “the aliphatic unsaturated carbon-carbon bond containing group” in component (C) of claim 1 so it is not clear what this refers to.
In claim 3 “at least less than 0.1 mass%” is also indefinite, since “at least” generally refers to a range covering a lower bound and values greater than the lower bound, which is contradictory to “less than”. For the purposes of examination, the range is considered to be less than 0.1 mass%, since paragraph 32 of the specification appears to discourage the inclusion of the vinyl moieties.
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 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by DeGroot (WO 2020/121930 A1) .
An English-language equivalent of DeGroot, U.S. PG Pub. No. 2022/0282142, has been used in setting forth this rejection, and the paragraph numbers referred to herein are those of the English-language equivalent.
In paragraph 10, DeGroot discloses a silicone adhesive composition comprising components (A), (B), (D), and (E) which are identical to components (A), (B), (D), and (E) of claim 1. In paragraph 9 DeGroot indicates that the silicone adhesive composition is pressure sensitive, as recited in claim 1. The silicone adhesive composition of DeGroot further comprises an organopolysiloxane resin (C). In paragraph 52 DeGroot discloses that the component (C) preferably has a hydroxyl content within the range recited for component (C) of claim 1. In paragraph 134 DeGroot discloses a specific suitable component (C) having a hydroxyl content of 4.5 mol% and having a weight average molecular weight of 4500, meeting the limitations of component (C) of claim 1. In paragraph 81 DeGroot discloses that the composition can comprise an organic solvent in an amount of less than 20% by weight, as recited in claim 1, and can be essentially free of organic solvent. While DeGroot does not specifically disclose the glass transition temperature of a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer obtained by curing the composition, since the composition of DeGroot meets the compositional limitations of the claims, it will be capable of producing a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer having such a glass transition temperature. Claim 1 is therefore anticipated by DeGroot.
In paragraph 72 DeGroot discloses that the ratio of silicon-bonded hydrogen atoms in (B) to the aliphatic unsaturated carbon-carbon bond-containing groups in (A) and (D) ranges from 0.70 to 1.30, within the range recited in claim 2. It is noted that DeGroot teaches in paragraphs 42-43 DeGroot discloses that the component (C) comprises monovalent organic groups which are preferably free of (“non-containing”) aliphatic unsaturated carbon-carbon bonds, therefore leading to a vinyl content within the range recited in claim 3, and indicating that component (C) does not significantly affect the ratio recited in claim 2. DeGroot does not disclose any other required components containing silicone-bonded hydrogen atoms besides component (B) and therefore meets the proviso of claim 2 that the composition be substantially free of such components.
In paragraph 11 and the reference’s claim 2, DeGroot discloses that (A), (B), (C), and (D) are present in the amounts recited in claim 4. In paragraph 57 DeGroot discloses that component (D) can be the types (D1) and (D2) recited in claim 5. In paragraph 88 DeGroot discloses that a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer obtained by curing the composition has an adhesive force of 100 to 2,500 gf/inch, within the range recited in claim 6. A pressure-sensitive adhesive layer obtained by curing the adhesive composition of DeGroot also meets the limitations of claim 7.
In paragraphs 101-106 DeGroot discloses a laminate body comprising a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer obtained by curing the adhesive composition and meeting the limitations of claims 8-10. In paragraph 12 (items 10-11) and 98, as well as the reference’s claims 10-11, DeGroot discloses elastic adhesive members obtained by curing the composition, as recited in claim 11, and electronic equipment or electrical devices, as recited in claim 12.
In light of the above, claims 1-12 are anticipated by DeGroot.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Iimura (WO 2020/121939 A1), cited in the International Search Report, as an X reference, is cumulative to the DeGroot reference cited in the above rejection.
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/JAMES C GOLOBOY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1771