Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/457,908

ACTINIC RAY-SENSITIVE OR RADIATION-SENSITIVE RESIN COMPOSITION, ACTINIC RAY-SENSITIVE OR RADIATION-SENSITIVE FILM, PATTERN FORMING METHOD, AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING ELECTRONIC DEVICE

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Aug 29, 2023
Examiner
FRASER, STEWART A
Art Unit
1724
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Fujifilm Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 7m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allow Rate
1135 granted / 1320 resolved
+21.0% vs TC avg
Moderate +14% lift
Without
With
+14.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 7m
Avg Prosecution
45 currently pending
Career history
1365
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.9%
-39.1% vs TC avg
§103
45.2%
+5.2% vs TC avg
§102
24.2%
-15.8% vs TC avg
§112
17.8%
-22.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1320 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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. Claims 1-20 are currently pending and have been fully considered. Priority Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. 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. Claims 1, 4 -9 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Hatakeyama et al. (US 2019/0137875 A1), herein referred to as Hatakeyama . Regarding claim 1, Hatakeyama teaches an actinic ray-sensitive or radiation-sensitive composition comprising [012 8 -0134] a resin (A) that is decomposed by the action of an acid to generate a polar group (increase polarity), an acid generator [0237-0239] (ionic compound which generates acid by irradiation with an actinic ray or a radiation) and an acid diffusion control agent [0372-0373] which acts as a quencher that inhibits the reaction of the acid-decomposable resin (ionic compound which is decomposed by irradiation with an actinic ray or a radiation to reduce acid-trapping property). Hatakeyama further teaches [0128 -0134 ] resin (A) is configured to have a repeating unit represented by compounds such as : In the repeating units shown above, the compounds satisfy the conditions of Formula (1) recited in claim 1. In each of the compounds shown above, m=1 (each compound contains one OR group), n=0 ( each compound contains no R 1 ) and n+m ≤6. Regarding claim 4, Hatakeyama further teaches [0116] resin (A) may be configured to have a repeating unit with a phenolic hydroxy group. Regarding claims 5 , 6 and 16, Hatakeyama further teaches [0465-046 8 ] an onium salt compound which generates an acid due to irradiation and also can be decomposed to carry out control of acid diffusion (acid-trapping property) . Regarding claim 7, Hatakeyama further teaches [0033] an actinic ray-sensitive or radiation-sensitive film comprising the composition discussed in claim 1 above. Regarding claim s 8 and 9 , Hatakeyama further teaches [0033] a pattern forming method and method of manufacturing an electronic device comprising the composition discussed in claim 1 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. Claim s 2, 3, 10-15 and 17-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hatakeyama et al. (US 2019/0137875 A1), herein referred to as Hatakeyama . Regarding claim 2, Hatakeyama teaches [0369] the content of an acid generator ( ionic compound which generates acid by irradiation with an actinic ray or a radiation) is preferably 0.1 to 35 percent by mass with respect to the total solid content of the composition. The mass percent range taught by Hatakeyama overlaps the claimed range of 10 percent by mass or more. In view of MPEP Chapter 2144.05 Section I, “ In the case where the claimed ranges ‘ overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art ’ a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990) ”. Since the range taught by Hatakeyama overlaps the claimed range, a prima facie case of obviousness is established and claim 2 is therefore considered to be obvious in view of Hatakeyama . Regarding claim s 3 and 10 , Hatakeyama teaches [0131-0133] resin (A) having an aromatic acid-decomposable group wherein the content of the aromatic acid-decomposable group is preferably 10 to 100 percent by mole with respect to all the repeating units of resin (A) . The m ole percent range taught by Hatakeyama overlaps the claimed range of 50 percent by m ole or more. In view of MPEP Chapter 2144.05 Section I, “ In the case where the claimed ranges ‘ overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art ’ a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990) ”. Since the range taught by Hatakeyama overlaps the claimed range, a prima facie case of obviousness is established and claim 3 is therefore considered to be obvious in view of Hatakeyama . Regarding claim s 11-13 , Hatakeyama further teaches [0116] resin (A) may be configured to have a repeating unit with a phenolic hydroxy group. Regarding claims 14, 15 and 17-20, Hatakeyama further teaches [0465-0468] an onium salt compound which generates an acid due to irradiation and also can be decomposed to carry out control of acid diffusion (acid-trapping property) . Therefore, claims 11-4, 15 and 17-20 are considered to be obvious in view of Hatakeyama . Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT STEWART A FRASER whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-5126 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT M-F, 7am-4pm, 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Miriam Stagg can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-270-5256 . 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. /STEWART A FRASER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1724
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Aug 29, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 23, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
86%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+14.2%)
2y 7m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1320 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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