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 .
Election/Restrictions
Restriction to one of the following inventions is required under 35 U.S.C. 121:
I. Claims 1-9 and 11-14, drawn to a metal electrode patterning method, classified in 29/847.
II. Claims 18-24, drawn to a substrate and a display, classified in 174/260.
The inventions are independent or distinct, each from the other because:
Inventions of Group I and Group II are related as process of making and product made. The inventions are distinct if either or both of the following can be shown: (1) that the process as claimed can be used to make another and materially different product or (2) that the product as claimed can be made by another and materially different process (MPEP § 806.05(f)). In the instant case, the product as claimed can be made by another and materially different process such as printing and drying the pattern formation control material.
Restriction for examination purposes as indicated is proper because all the inventions listed in this action are independent or distinct for the reasons given above and there would be a serious search and/or examination burden if restriction were not required because one or more of the following reasons apply:
The inventions have acquired a separate status in the art in view of their different classification and due to their recognized divergent subject matter. Therefore, the inventions require a different field of search (for example, searching different classes/subclasses or electronic resources, or employing different search queries) and
the prior art applicable to one invention would not likely be applicable to another invention.
Applicant is advised that the reply to this requirement to be complete must include (i) an election of an invention to be examined even though the requirement may be traversed (37 CFR 1.143) and (ii) identification of the claims encompassing the elected invention.
The election of an invention may be made with or without traverse. To reserve a right to petition, the election must be made with traverse. If the reply does not distinctly and specifically point out supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election shall be treated as an election without traverse. Traversal must be presented at the time of election in order to be considered timely. Failure to timely traverse the requirement will result in the loss of right to petition under 37 CFR 1.144. If claims are added after the election, applicant must indicate which of these claims are readable upon the elected invention.
Should applicant traverse on the ground that the inventions are not patentably distinct, applicant should submit evidence or identify such evidence now of record showing the inventions to be obvious variants or clearly admit on the record that this is the case. In either instance, if the examiner finds one of the inventions unpatentable over the prior art, the evidence or admission may be used in a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) of the other invention.
During a telephone conversation with HYUNSOEK PARK on August 21, 2026 a provisional election was made without traverse to prosecute the invention of Group I, claims 1-9 and 11-14. Affirmation of this election must be made by applicant in replying to this Office action. Claims 18-24 are withdrawn from further consideration by the examiner, 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a non-elected invention.
Specification
A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the ELECTED invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: --METHOD OF PATTERNING A METAL ELECTRODE USING A PATTERN FORMATION CONTROL MATERIAL.
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 1-9 and 11-14 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.
“engraved pattern” (claim 1, line 3) is confusing because it is unclear as to the pattern is formed by engraved the pattern formation control material or not, since the Specification does not disclose the step of engraving the pattern formation control material, it is suggested to amend the limitation to better define how the pattern is formed or in what configuration/shape without introducing new matter into the claim.
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 1, 3-9 and 11-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KR20200050499 to Kim et al.
Regarding claims 1, 4-9, and 12-14, Kim et al disclose metal electrode patterning method (see Par. 11) using a pattern formation control material, comprising preparing a substrate: printing a pattern formation control material (step S110) on the substrate in an engraved pattern (see Fig. 2); heat-treating the printed pattern formation control material (step S120); and forming a conductive metal electrode pattern in a region other than the engraved pattern-printed region (step S150), thereby having a transition region is formed between the region in which the metal electrode pattern is formed and the region in which the pattern formation control material is printed (claim 12), except for the pattern formation control material is printed has light transmission (claim 1), the composition of it (claims 4-7), and it configuration (claims 8-9), and the thickness and inclined surface of the formation control material (claims 13-14). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to select any desired material having properties of claims (1, 4-7) and configuration of claims (8-9 and 13-14), since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to selected a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a manner of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416; also discovering an optimum or workable ranges (thickness and degree of inclined surface) involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 3, Kim et al disclose designing the engraved pattern (as required by the electronic specification) before the printing the engraved pattern on the substrate.
Regarding claim 11, Kim et al disclose metal particles on the metal electrode pattern are more uniformly distributed than particles distributed in the region in which the pattern formation control material is applied (inherently, Kim et al disclose all the processing step of claim 1 therefore it must achieve the same result of claim 11
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al in view of U.S. Patent 7,172,822 to Shibata.
Kim et al does not disclose the exact method of forming the metal electrode. Shibata teaches the formation of the metal electrode pattern is a high-purity metal electrode pattern (1) formed by physical vapor deposition (PVD, see Col. 21, lines 51-61). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention Kim et al by utilizing the method of physical vapor depositing a metal electrode pattern as taught by Shibata for forming a network conductor.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DONGHAI D NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-4566. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-5:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thomas J. Hong can be reached at 571-272-0993. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DN/ /DONGHAI D NGUYEN/September 5, 2026 Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3729
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