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 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)(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. Claim(s) 1- 5 and 10-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Nozawa (US 2023/0097280; IDS,10/28/2024) . Nozawa discloses a mask blank and method of using said mask blank. Nozawa illustrates an embodiment in Figures 1-2. Nozawa discloses Figure 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a mask blank 100 which includes a ph ase shift film 20 , a light shielding film 30 , and a hard mask film 31 are stacked in this order on a transparent substrate 10 . (Para, 0041;Fig.1). These disclosures and the illustrations of Figure 1 teach the limitations of claim 1, ‘ A blank mask, comprising: a light transmissive substrate; and a multilayer comprising a light shielding layer and a phase shift layer disposed between the light transmissive substrate and the light shielding layer , wherein the phase shift layer comprises an upper surface facing the light shielding layer and a side surface connected to the upper surface, such that the light shielding layer is disposed on the upper surface and the side surface of the phase shift layer … ’ and the limitation of claims 2-3 and 5. Moreover, these disclosures and the illustrations of Figure 1 teach the limitations of claim 10 , ‘ A photomask made from a blank mask, the blank mask comprising: a light transmissive substrate; and a multilayer comprising a light shielding layer and a phase shift layer that is disposed between the light transmissive substrate and the light shielding layer, wherein the phase shift layer comprises an upper surface facing the light shielding layer and a side surface connected to the upper surface, such that the light shielding layer is disposed on the upper surface and the side surface of the phase shift layer …’ Nozawa discloses Figure 2, which is a top down view, illustrates one main surface 11 a of the two main surfaces 11 includes an inner region 14 including a center 17 of the main surface 11 a and an outer peripheral region 15 outside of the inner region 14 . (Para, 0043; Fig.2). Nozawa discloses the light shielding film 30 as a thin film is provided on the inner region 14, o n the outer peripheral region 15 , the light shielding film 30 is not substantially formed, namely, the main surface 11 a is substantially exposed. (Para, 0043; Fig.2). Nozawa discloses the state where the light shielding film 30 is not substantially formed or the state where the main surface 11 a is substantially exposed includes the state where the sputtering particles configuring the light shielding film 30 are slightly adhered and deposited in less than 1 nm. (Para, 0043; Fig.2). These disclosures and illustrations teach the limitation of claim 1, ‘ A blank mask, comprising: … wherein when viewed from a top surface of the multilayer, the multilayer comprises a central portion and an outer portion surrounding the central portion, and wherein the outer portion has a curved upper surface. ’ T hese disclosures and the illustrations of Figure 2 teach the limitation of claim 4. Moreover, these disclosures and the illustrations of Figure 2 teach the limitations of claim 10, ‘ A photomask made from a blank mask, the blank mask comprising: … wherein when viewed from a top surface of the multilayer, the multilayer comprises a central portion and an outer portion surrounding the central portion, and wherein the outer portion has a curved upper surface. ’ Nozawa also recites in claims 8-9 and 17-18 a transfer mask based on a mask blank disclosed. Nozawa also discloses in claims 10-11 and 19 a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising transferring a transfer pattern to a resist film on a semiconductor substrate by exposure using the transfer mask of claims 8-9 and 17-18, which are based on the mask blank disclosed by Nozawa. These claim recitations teach the limitations of claims 11. Therefore, the recitations of claims 1-5 and 10-11 are anticipated by the disclosures of Nozawa as discussed above. 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. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. Claim(s) 6-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nozawa . The disclosures of Nozawa as discussed in paragraph 3 above fail to explicitly teach the limitation of claim 6 , ‘ The blank mask of claim 5, wherein the slope area is disposed at an outermost portion of the multilayer; and wherein in a cross-sectional view of the multilayer, the slope area has a width ranging from 0.2 mm to 1.0 mm in an in-plane direction of the multilayer. ’ However, the disclosures of Nozawa as discussed in paragraph 4 above and further below provide such teachings. Nozawa clarifies the boundary line between the inner region 14 and the outer peripheral region 15 and the center 17 are hypothetical which are applied for the purpose of explanation, and are not always actually applied to actual substrates. (Para, 0043; Fig.2). Nozawa also discloses the boundary line between the inner region 14 and the outer peripheral region 15 is preferably 0.05 mm or more inside the boundary between the chamfered surface 13 and the main surface 11 a of the substrate 10 . These disclosures and the illustrations of Figure 2 teach and/or suggest the limitation of claim 6. Nozawa discloses the thickness of the phase shift film 20 is preferably 80 nm or less, and more preferably 70 nm or less and more preferably 50 nm or more. (Para, 0049). Nozawa discloses the average film thickness of the light shielding film 30 is preferably 60 nm or less, more preferably 50 nm or less, and further preferably 40 nm or less. (Para, 0050). When the film thickness of the light shielding film 30 is too thick, the fine pattern to be formed cannot be created with high precision ; t herefore, the average film thickness of the light shielding film 30 is expected to be greater than 10 nm, and more preferably 15 nm or more, excluding the edge region that is the boundary between the inner region 14 and the outer peripheral region 15 . (Para, 0053). These disclosures and the illustrations of Figure 2 teach and/or suggest the limitations of claims 7-9. While the recitations of claims 6-9 are not exactly and/or identically disclosed by Nozawa , one of ordinary skill in the art would have reasonably expected to precisely form a mask blank with appropriate boundaries for each layer of the mask blank so that it may be used to form transfer masks and/or photomasks usable in photolithographic patterning methods applicable to semiconductor device fabrication methods. 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