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 .
Claim Status
Claims 1-13 are under consideration
Claims 14-20 are withdrawn
Election/Restrictions
Claims 14-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 07/07/2026.
Applicant traverses on grounds of sufficiently related subject matter. This basis does not overcome the burden as established in the restriction requirement mailed 06/22/2026. Applicant may request rejoinder if appropriate under MPEP should allowable subject matter be identified; as such, the remarks are not persuasive.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
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 11-13 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.
Claims 11-13 recite the limitation "the second repeating unit represented by Formula 3". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the sake of examination, the examiner will interpret this as “the third repeating unit represented by Formula 3”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yahagi (US20180210338A1, published 2018).
Regarding claims 1-13,
Yahagi teaches a resist composition comprising of a polymer comprising of structural units (a0) and (a10) as shown below [0061, 0072-0073, 0146-0147, 0155, 0173-0174], where Rα may be H or methyl.
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137
302
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139
292
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Yahagi further teaches an example polymeric compound A1-2 comprising of the following structural units [0819-0820, table 1], where structural unit (a01) aligns with the instant first repeating unit and structural unit (a101) aligns with the instant third repeating unit, reading on instant claims 1-7 and 11-13.
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122
272
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116
271
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Yahagi further teaches including other structural units such as butyl (meth)acrylate [0206-0207], which would include the following structures, reading on instant claims 7-10.
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457
192
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Claims 1-5 and 7-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tsuchimura (US20170121437A1, published 2017).
Regarding claims 1-5 and 7-13,
Tsuchimura teaches the following polymer [0062, table 1], where the 1st structural from the left reads on the instant third repeating unit, and the 2nd structural unit from the left reads on the instant first repeating unit, reading on instant claims 1-5, 7, and 11-13.
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132
347
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Tsuchimura also teaches the following polymer [0062, table 1], where the 1st structural unit from the left reads on the instant third repeating unit, the 2nd structural unit from the left reads on the instant second repeating unit, and the 4th structural unit from the left reads on the instant first repeating unit, reading on instant claims 1-5 and 7-12.
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455
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Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US20160299428A1, US20190018319A1, and US20140170560A1 each teach similar polymer compositions.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Alexander Lee whose telephone number is (571)272-2261. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 7:30-5:30 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, Keith Walker can be reached at (571) 272-3458. 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.
/Alexander N. Lee/Examiner, Art Unit 1737
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