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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on January 16, 2026 has been entered.
Withdrawn Rejections
Any rejections and or objections, made in the previous Office Action, and not repeated below, are hereby withdrawn due to Applicant’s amendments and/or arguments in the response dated December 17, 2025. However, new rejections may have been made using the same prior art if still applicable to the newly presented amendments and/or arguments.
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 3, 4 and 10 – 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shirai et al. (USPGPub 2011/0070430 A1) in view of Ikemura et al. (JP 2021134274 A) and Mitsui Kazuma et al. (EP 2492330 A2).
Shirai et al. disclose a double-sided pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet (Figures 1 and 2; Abstract) comprising: a substrate film having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface (Figures 1 and 2, #10), the substrate film having a thickness of 12 μm or less (Paragraphs 0014, 0099, and 0105; a first pressure-sensitive adhesive layer disposed on the first surface, having a first adhesive surface opposite the substrate film, and formed from a first water-dispersed pressure-sensitive adhesive composition (Figures 1 and 2, #22; Paragraphs 0035 - 0092); a second pressure-sensitive adhesive layer disposed on the second surface, having a second adhesive surface opposite the substrate film, and formed from a second water-dispersed pressure-sensitive adhesive composition (Figures1 and 2, #21; Paragraphs 0035 - 0092); and a release liner in releasable contact with the first adhesive surface (Figures 1 and 2, #31), wherein the first water-dispersed pressure-sensitive adhesive composition contains a water-dispersible polymer, water, and a leveling agent (Paragraph 0091) as in claim 3. With respect to claim 4, the second pressure-sensitive adhesive layer is formed from a coating film of the second water-dispersed pressure-sensitive adhesive composition applied to the substrate film (Paragraph 0092). Regarding claims 13 and 14, the first release liner has a thickness of 35 μm or more (Figure 1, #31; Paragraphs 0036 and 0107). Regarding claims 10 – 12, the substrate film includes an anchoring layer forming the first surface and/or an anchoring layer forming the second surface (Paragraphs 0016, 0100 and 0101). However, Shirai et al. fail to disclose the thickener includes a carboxylic acid copolymer thickener and a polyacrylic thickener, a blending ratio of the leveling agent to 100 parts by mass of the water-dispersible polymer is 0.1 parts by mass or more and 2 parts by mass or less, and wherein a ratio of the thickener in a solid content of the first water-dispersed pressure-sensitive adhesive composition is 1% by mass or more and 3% by mass or less, and the second release liner having a thickness of 25 μm or less.
Ikemura et al. teach a water-dispersed pressure-sensitive adhesive composition (Abstract) containing a leveling agent (Page 4, lines 40 – 48) in a blending ratio of the leveling agent to 100 parts by mass of the water-dispersible polymer is 0.1 parts by mass or more and 2 parts by mass or less (Page 5, lines 9 – 25), and wherein a ratio of the thickener in a solid content of the first water-dispersed pressure-sensitive adhesive composition is 1% by mass or more and 3% by mass or less (Page 5, lines 26 – 31) for the purpose of having a desired viscosity and surface tension (Page 5, lines 20 – 25).
Mitsui Kazuma et al. teach a water-dispersed pressure-sensitive adhesive composition (Abstract) having the thickener includes a carboxylic acid copolymer thickener and a polyacrylic thickener (Paragraphs 0066 – 0069 and 0128) for the purpose of having an adhesive with a higher viscosity and resistant to dimple effects (Paragraph 0066).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a thickener includes a carboxylic acid and polyacrylic, a leveling agent in a blending ratio of the leveling agent to 100 parts by mass of the water-dispersible polymer is 0.1 parts by mass or more and 2 parts by mass or less and wherein a ratio of the thickener in a solid content of the first water-dispersed pressure-sensitive adhesive composition is 1% by mass or more and 3% by mass or less in Shirai et al. in order to have a desired viscosity and surface tension as taught by Ikemura et al. to have an adhesive with a higher viscosity and resistant to dimple effects as taught by Mitsui Kazuma et al.
With regard to the limitations of “the second release liner is thinner than the first release liner, and the second release liner having a thickness of 25 μm or less”, Shirai et al. clearly discloses having a release liner in releasable contact with the adhesive surface, the release liner having a thickness of 25 μm or less (Figure 1, #32; Paragraphs 0036 and 0107), wherein the thickness of the release liner may be selected according to the purpose of the release liner (Paragraph 0107). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the applicant’s invention was made to have two release liners with two different thicknesses, since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of a component. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. MPEP 2144.04.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 3, 4 and 10 – 17 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.
Please see the newly presented rejection in view of Mitsui Kazuma et al.
Conclusion
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/Patricia L. Nordmeyer/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1788
/pln/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1788 January 28, 2026