DETAILED ACTION
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 § 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.
Claim(s) 1-2, and 5-15, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WO 2021/137599 and using U. S. Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0334478 as its English Translation Equivalent (hereinafter referred to as Youn).
Youn, in abstract, in [0006], in [0014]-[0016], [0022], [0026], [0031]-[0032], [0036]-[0041], discloses a positive photosensitive resin composition that comprises a polyamic acid, or a polyimide (claimed alkali-soluble resin), a thermal crosslinking agent include structures with one or two functional groups that has the same structural formula, see below,
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134
153
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, wherein A is
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64
164
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, and n=1-6,
and also includes thermal cross-linking agents with up to about four functional groups , see below,
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255
418
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, and is the same claimed thermal crosslinkable compounds recited in claims 6-7, the resin composition includes a photosensitizer (quinonediazide compound) that is esterified using phenol compounds (as a ballast), the phenol compounds include the claimed phenol compounds, see below,
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360
322
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,
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225
317
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,
and
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269
459
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and is the same claimed photosensitizer recited in claims 11-12, and Youn, in [0033], discloses that the composition includes a solvent (claims 1-2, 6-7, 11-12). Youn, in [0040], discloses that the thermal crosslinking agent is present in an amount of 10 to 50 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the polyimide resin (claim 5). Youn, in [0014], discloses that polymer resin in the positive photosensitive resin composition includes the following structural unit, see below,
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128
373
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, and
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142
362
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wherein the R1, and R2 can be substituted with hydroxyl groups and is the same repeat/structural units recited in claim 8, and discloses the content of the structural units in the same claimed ratio as recited in claim 9. Youn, in [0032], discloses that the content of the naphthoquinone diazide compound in the composition is about 5 to 50 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the polymer resin (claim 10). Youn, in [0041], discloses that the composition includes a thermal acid generator, and Youn in [0042], discloses that the photosensitive resin composition also includes a UV absorber (claim 13). Youn, in [0042]-[0044], discloses that the positive photosensitive resin composition if cured to form an insulating film and is used in a display device such as an OLED (claims 14-15).
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) 3-4, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2021/137599 and using U. S. Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0334478 as its English Translation Equivalent (hereinafter referred to as Youn) in view of Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-148788 (hereinafter referred to as JP ‘788).
Youn is discussed in paragraph no. 3, above.
The difference between the claims and Youn is that Youn does not disclose the claimed ratio of the crosslinking compounds as recited in claims 3-4.
JP ‘788, in [0166]-[0171], discloses that the crosslinking agents in the alkali-soluble resin composition are phenol derivatives that has alkoxy methyl (or alkoxy ethyl) groups bonded to the benzene ring wherein the alkoxy groups can be 2 or more and lists different phenol derivative with different number of functional groups and discloses that the crosslinking agents can be a combination of two different phenol-alkoxy derivatives ((i) and (ii)) and includes 90/10 to 20/80 or even 90/10 to 50/50 and includes the claimed ratios.
Therefore, it would be obvious to a skilled artisan to modify Youn by employing the ratio suggested by JP ‘788 because Youn teaches the use of compounds of crosslinking agents with different number of functional groups and does not prohibit the claimed ratio and JP ‘788, in [0166]-[0171], discloses the use of a combination of phenol derivatives that have alkoxy methyl groups so as to provide stability during storage of the resin composition.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Daborah Chacko-Davis whose telephone number is (571) 272-1380. The examiner can normally be reached on 9:30AM-6:00PM EST Mon-Fri. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sally A. Merkling can be reached on (571) 272-6297. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-272-8300. 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.
/DABORAH CHACKO-DAVIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1737 July 20, 2026.
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