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 § 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(s) 1, 3-5, and 7-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20090042110 A1 (hereby referred to as Matsuo) in view of US 20150268552 A1 (hereby referred to as Nam). Regarding Claims 1, 4, and 5 , Matsuo discloses a reflection type photomask blank and a photomask produced from the same. The reflective mask blank comprises a substrate, a multilayer reflection film formed on the substrate, a protection film formed on the multilayer reflection film, a shock absorbing film formed on the protection film, and an absorber layer formed on the shock absorbing film (Matsuo, paragraph 0045 and Fig. 1). Alternatively, the protection film and the shock absorbing film may be replaced by a single-layer dual-use film which serves as both a protection film and a shock absorbing film (Matsuo, paragraph 0062 and Fig. 4). The dual-use film may also be provided as a dual-layer laminated film (Matsuo, paragraph 0072 and Fig. 7). The reflection type photomask is obtained by forming an exposure transfer pattern in the absorber layer of the reflection type photomask blank (Matsuo, paragraph 0056, 0063, and 0081; see also Figs. 2-3, 5, and 8). The protection film is formed from a compound including Zr and Si ( ZrSi ), a compound including Zr, Si, and at least one of O or N, or a single element or compound including Ru, C, and/or Y (Matsuo, paragraph 0048). However, Matsuo does not explicitly disclose a photomask blank or photomask wherein the protective film comprises SiC or SiN in combination with the oxide of Mg, Al, Ti, Y, or Zr. Nam teaches a mask blank and a photomask produced from the same. The mask blank comprises a transparent substrate, a light shielding film, a protective film, a hard mask film, and a resist film (Nam, paragraph 0037 and Fig. 1). The protective film includes at least one material selected from molybdenum (Mo), tantalum (Ta), aluminum (Al), and silicon (Si), and further includes at least one light element selected from the group consisting of oxygen (O), carbon (C), and nitrogen (N) (Nam, paragraph 0048). The teachings of Nam suggest a protective film comprising, for instance, aluminum (Al), silicon (Si), oxygen (O), and one of carbon (C) or nitrogen (N). Matsuo and Nam are analogous art because both references pertain to masks having protective layers. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the instant application to use a protective film comprising SiC or SiN in combination with the oxide of aluminum (Al and O), as taught by Nam, in the reflective mask blank and mask taught by Matsuo because such a protective film provides desirable etching properties during patterning of the mask (Nam, paragraph 0047, 0049, and 0051). Regarding Claims 3, 10, and 14 , Matsuo teaches an embodiment wherein the protection film comprises a two-layer laminated film (Matsuo, paragraph 0072 and Figs. 7-8). Matsuo further teaches that the upper layer of the laminated protection film is favorably formed of ruthenium (Ru) (Matsuo, paragraph 0073). The lower layer may be the same materials as the above-described protection film, wherein the properties of the upper and lower layers can be controlled by the compositions of each layer (Matsuo, paragraph 0072-0073). Thus, Matsuo renders obvious an embodiment where a Ru-based material layer is formed over the protective layer. Regarding Claims 7-9, 11-13, and 15-20 , Matsuo teaches a reflective mask blank and a reflective mask comprising a substrate, a reflective multilayer, a protective film, and an absorber film. Matsuo suggests a protective film comprising silicon, nitrogen, and the oxide of zirconium, but is silent in regards to the elemental contents of the protective layer, in terms of atomic%. Nam teaches a protective film that includes at least one material selected from molybdenum (Mo), tantalum (Ta), aluminum (Al), and silicon (Si), and further includes at least one light element selected from the group consisting of oxygen (O), carbon (C), and nitrogen (N) (Nam, paragraph 0048). Specifically, it is preferable that the protective film includes the material selected from the group consisting of Mo, Ta, and Al at a content of 0 atomic% to 10 atomic%; oxygen at a content of 10 atomic% to 80 atomic%; silicon at a content of 10 atomic% to 80 atomic%; and the light element at a content of 0 atomic% to 60 atomic% (Nam, paragraph 0048). The ranges taught by Nam overlap those recited by instant claims 7-9, 11-13, and 15-20. For instance, Nam’s protective film can be a film comprising SiCAlO or SiNAlO . The metal content in either case is between 0 atomic% to 10 atomic%, which overlaps with the metal contents recited by instant claims 7, 11, 15, and 18. The oxygen content is between 10 atomic% to 80 atomic%, which overlaps with the oxygen contents recited by instant claims 8, 12, 16, and 19. The light element content (either nitrogen or carbon) is between 0 atomic% to 60 atomic%, which overlaps with the carbon content recited by instant claims 9 and 17 and the nitrogen content recited by instant claims 13 and 20. Per MPEP 2144.05 I., when the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. Matsuo and Nam are analogous art because both references pertain to masks having protective layers. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the instant application to use a protective film comprising SiC or SiN in combination with the oxide of aluminum (Al and O) in the amounts taught by Nam, in place of the protective film taught by Matsuo because the protective film taught by Nam offers desirable etching characteristics during patterning of the mask blank to form the mask (Nam, paragraph 0047-0049 and 0051). Furthermore, one having ordinary skill in the art would recognize that the optical properties of the protective film (such as light transmission, light absorption, and the like) and etching characteristics are affected by compositional changes in the film makeup. See, for instance, Matsuo’s inventive examples (paragraphs 0051-0060; 0064-0070; and 0074-0124), which demonstrate that etching and optical properties of the protective films change with different compositional makeups. Claim(s) 4-5, 10, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20090042110 A1 (hereby referred to as Matsuo) . Regarding Claims 4 and 5 , Matsuo discloses a reflection type photomask blank and a photomask produced from the same. The reflective mask blank comprises a substrate, a multilayer reflection film formed on the substrate, a protection film formed on the multilayer reflection film, a shock absorbing film formed on the protection film, and an absorber layer formed on the shock absorbing film (Matsuo, paragraph 0045 and Fig. 1). Alternatively, the protection film and the shock absorbing film may be replaced by a single-layer dual-use film which serves as both a protection film and a shock absorbing film (Matsuo, paragraph 0062 and Fig. 4). The dual-use film may also be provided as a dual-layer laminated film (Matsuo, paragraph 0072 and Fig. 7). The reflection type photomask is obtained by forming an exposure transfer pattern in the absorber layer of the reflection type photomask blank (Matsuo, paragraph 0056, 0063, and 0081; see also Figs. 2-3, 5, and 8). The protection film is formed from a compound including Zr and Si ( ZrSi ), a compound including Zr, Si, and at least one of O or N, or a single element or compound including Ru, C, and/or Y (Matsuo, paragraph 0048). Whilst Matsuo does not explicitly disclose a protective film comprising Zr, Si, O, and N, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the instant application to produce a protective film comprising SiN in combination with zirconium oxide ( ZrO ), thereby forming a SiNZrO protective film, because the broader disclosure of Matsuo teaches a protective film including Zr, Si, and at least one of O or N. Therefore, it would have been “obvious to try” a protective film including Zr, Si, and both of O and N, as Matsuo provides a finite list of identified, predictable solutions that would lead one having ordinary skill in the art to reasonably expect success. Refer to MPEP 2143 I. E. Regarding Claims 10 and 14 , Matsuo teaches an embodiment wherein the protection film comprises a two-layer laminated film (Matsuo, paragraph 0072 and Figs. 7-8). Matsuo further teaches that the upper layer of the laminated protection film is favorably formed of ruthenium (Ru) (Matsuo, paragraph 0073). The lower layer may be the same materials as the above-described protection film, wherein the properties of the upper and lower layers can be controlled by the compositions of each layer (Matsuo, paragraph 0072-0073). Thus, Matsuo renders obvious an embodiment wherein the SiNZrO film is disposed underneath a Ru-based material layer. 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