DETAILED ACTION
This office action is in response to the election of claims filed on 7/6/2026. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Acknowledgement
Applicant's election without traverse of Group 1, Claims 1-19, in the reply filed on July 6, 2026 is acknowledged. The present office action is made with all the suggested amendments being fully considered. Accordingly, pending in this office action are claim 1-20. Claim 20 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR .1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 9/20/2023, 3/26/2026, 4/8/2026 and 8/11/2026 are being considered by the examiner.
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 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.
Claims 12-13 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zheng (CN 102543951A)
With respect to Claim 12, Zheng shows (Fig. 2B) all aspects of the current invention including a semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) device comprising:
a front end of line (FEOL) microdevice (transistor 250);
a backside contact (via 219) that is connected to the FEOL microdevice;
a fuse wire (fuse wire in resistor 214)
a backside BEOL network comprising a first conductive pathway (217) directly connected to the backside contact and directly connected to the fuse wire (via 215) and a second conductive pathway (211) directly connected to the fuse wire
With respect to Claim 13, Zheng shows (Fig. 2B) wherein the fuse wire is vertically between the backside contact and the backside BEOL network
With respect to Claim 16, Zheng shows (Fig. 2B) wherein a bottom surface of the backside contact is directly connected to the first conductive pathway.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-3, 6-7, 10-11 and 20 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of copending Application No. 18/470,664 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the subject matter claimed in the instant application is anticipated by the copending Application.
Claim 1 of copending Application No. 18/470,664 anticipates claim 1 of the instant invention.
Claims 1 and 2 of copending Application No. 18/470,664 anticipates claim 2 of the instant invention.
Claims 1 and 3 of copending Application No. 18/470,664 anticipates claim 3 of the instant invention
Claims 1 and 6 of copending Application No. 18/470,664 anticipates claim 6 of the instant invention.
Claims 1 and 7 of copending Application No. 18/470,664 anticipates claim 7 of the instant invention.
Claims 1 and 10 of copending Application No. 18/470,664 anticipates claim 10 of the instant invention.
Claims 1 and 11 of copending Application No. 18/470,664 anticipates claim 11 of the instant invention.
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented. Furthermore, note that a provisional nonstatutory double patenting is warranted even when applications are filed on the same date (see MPEP 1490)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-5, 8-9, 14-15 and 17-19 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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/Q. B./
Examiner, Art Unit 2814
/WAEL M FAHMY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2814
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