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 .
Election/Restrictions
1. Applicant's election with traverse of Invention I in the reply filed on 02 July 2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the Inventions of the present application are of related fields of technology and possible added costs associated with potentially prosecuting multiple applications. This is not found persuasive because a product and process of using said product restriction is assumed to be in related fields of technology and Applicant has not indicated wherein the Examiner erred in issuing a restriction requirement.
2. The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
3. Claims 13-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected Invention II, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 02 July 2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. 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:
5. 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.
6. Claim 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saifullah et al. (World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Publication No. WO 2024/061550 A1), hereinafter Saifullah.
7. Regarding Claims 1-12, Saifullah teaches (Page 3, Line 34 to Page 4, Line 18) an organotin compound represented by Chemical Formula 1 of the present application, save from explicitly teaching m+n=3 with respect to Chemical Formula 1 of the present application. Therein, in the second formula of Saifullah provided, M is preferably Sn, R1 is a hydrogen or an aliphatic organic group, R2 is an aliphatic organic group, and R3 is an alkyl. Saifullah teaches (Claim 7) an organotin compound represented by Chemical Formula 1 of the present application is dissolved in a solvent. Saifullah teaches (Page 3, Line 34 to Page 4, Line 18) that the central metal may be of higher valencies. Saifullah teaches (Page 11, Line 1 to Page 13, Line 4) both an R3 alkyl group complexed to the central metal atom as well as teaching three methoxyimino propionate chelates complexed with the central metal atom. Saifullah teaches (Page 3, Line 34 to Page 4, Line 18) wherein R1 of Chemical Formula 1 of the present application, therein R3, is a substituted or unsubstituted C1 to C20 alkyl group. Saifullah teaches (Page 11, Line 1 to Page 13, Line 4) wherein, with respect to Chemical Formula 1 of the present application, R2 is a methyl group, R4 is a methyl group, and R5 is a hydrogen. Saifullah teaches (Page 11, Line 1 to Page 13, Line 4) wherein, with respect to Chemical Formula 1 of the present application, L1 to L3 are each independently a single bond. Saifullah teaches (Page 1, Lines 16-18) the photoresist composition further comprising an additive, therein heavy elements.
8. However, Saifullah fails to explicitly teach all components of the composition limited by the present application with a single experimental example. With respect to Chemical Formulae 1, 2, 3, 2-1, 3-1, and 6 of the present application, as stated previously, Saifullah teaches higher valencies of the central metal atom, three methoxyimino propionate chelates complexed with the central metal atom, and an alkyl complexed with the central metal atom. Thus, a person of ordinary skill in the art in view of Saifullah would have found it would only require a simple substitution of one known element for another with respect to the alkyl groups and methoxyimino propionate chelates complexed with the central metal atom and the results of the substitution would have been predictable. Also, with respect to m and n of Chemical Formulae 2 and 3 being equal to 2, as previously stated, Saifullah teaches higher valencies of the central metal atom, two methoxyimino propionate chelates, which is within the limitations of the chelates of Chemical Formulae 2 and 3 of the present application, complexed with the central metal atom, and an alkyl complexed with the central metal atom. Thus, a person of ordinary skill in the art in view of Saifullah would have found it would only require a simple substitution of one known element for another with respect to the alkyl groups, two instead of one, and the results of the substitution would have been predictable. With respect to the claimed limitation of based on 100 wt% of the photoresist composition, the organotin compound is in an amount of about 1 wt% to about 30 wt%, MPEP § 2144.05(II)(A) states: "Generally, differences in concentration or temperature will not support the patentability of subject matter encompassed by the prior art unless there is evidence indicating such concentration or temperature is critical. “[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation.” In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955). Thus, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to find workable ranges of concentration of the organotin compound in the solvent.
Conclusion
9. Any inquiry concerning this communication should be directed to RICHARD D CHAMPION at telephone number (571) 272-0750. The examiner can normally be reached on 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Mon-Fri EST.
10. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, KEITH D HENDRICKS can be reached at (571) 272-1401. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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12. 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.
/RICHARD DAVID CHAMPION/Examiner, Art Unit 1737
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